Hopes of finding 29 men trapped in a New Zealand mine alive were rapidly fading on Tuesday, with footage of the blast at the mine four days ago showing debris flung out of the shaft like a bullet from a gun. Rescuers have not yet entered the mine, dug into the side of a mountain range, since the explosion on Friday, fearing that it is a powder keg of explosive gases that could ignite at any time.
"The likelihood (of rescue) is diminishing and we have to be realistic," police district commander Gary Knowles said. The mine company released surveillance camera footage from the entrance to the coal mine, which showed the strength and duration of the blast, which lasted nearly a minute. "The length of time and the violence that will show in the video...shows it was quite a significant event indeed," Pike River Coal Chief Executive Peter Whittall said, likening the 2.3 km mine-shaft to the barrel of a gun.
Progress on drilling a 15 cm-wide (6-inch) shaft of 162 metres to get access to the mine had slowed after hitting hard rock, with more than 10 metres still to go to reach the main shaft. Rescuers intend to monitor the air quality from the hole and lower cameras and sound devices to check for signs of life. Whittall said a camera was lowered down another narrow hole which provided air to one of the designated safe areas off the main mine shaft. Some damage from the blast was evident and no signs of life were seen.
A second robot arrived at the mine to replace one which had broken down earlier on Tuesday, a setback which provoked anger and frustration from family members, who have seen hope slowly fade as time drag on.
"It's getting worse. Frustration, anxiety, anger, it's all surfacing it's getting to crisis point with people's feelings," Laurie Drew, whose son Zen, 21, is one of the trapped, told Reuters.
The second robot was being readied to enter the mine shaft, after the first one broke down after getting wet about 550 metres down the 2.3 km (1.4 mile) shaft. Rescue teams also used seismic devices, which could detect if any survivors were trying to signal to the surface by tapping on the rock or pipes, but nothing had been heard.
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