Editorial: Time to rethink entering Pike River mine

The Pike River mine at Greymouth where explosions killed 29 workers.

THE sixth anniversary of the Pike River disaster has been and gone with some new information exposed.

Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme revealed this week that people have been into the drift since the explosions in the mine.

Former mines rescue team member Harold Gibbens said he and others had been 170m into the 2km tunnel to temporarily seal the first part of the chamber.

The issue with the drift is it is full of methane, which, if it comes into contact with oxygen, is volatile. Those who argue the drift can be entered safely say they have techniques to ensure it doesn't explode.

It is just the drift the families want to explore. They know the mine proper is a lost cause but there is a possibility one or more of the miners' bodies may be found at the mine entrance. Footage released two years ago does seems to show a body.

Entry to a larger section of the drift will also provide more information about the explosions in the mine six years ago.

Allied Concrete this week pulled out of the sealing job and Solid Energy now has just over three months to complete the sealing. Some Pike River families have sought but been denied a stay on that work.

A lawyer for the Pike River families talks of the "undue haste" with which Solid Energy is looking to seal the mine. He calls it a crime scene for possibly "New Zealand's biggest homicide".

With Allied Concrete now stepping back from the contract, it is time to re-consider going in. Nothing will be lost by examining the possibility.

There must be a consensus to be found which will put the families' minds at ease.