British miners among 29 trapped underground in New Zealand gas blast

TWO BRITISH miners were feared to be among 29 men at the centre of a search and rescue mission today after an explosion at a New Zealand coal mine left them trapped deep underground.

The pair were entombed after a powerful gas blast struck at the Pike River Coal Mine in Atarau, on South Island, yesterday.

Union representative Trevor Bolderson said the men had been working at the mine for about 12 months.

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Sources named them as Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire, and Malcolm Campbell, 25, originally from St Andrews in Fife. Earlier reports had indicated that two miners from Yorkshire were among the casualties.

Mining experts expressed surprise at delays in launching a rescue effort.

The mission to locate the workers was hampered by fears that dangerous gas could trigger a second explosion. It is not known if the men - who have now been missing for more than 24 hours - are alive or dead.

Mining expert Professor Dennis Buchanan from Imperial College, London, said he had expected rescue workers to have entered the mine by this stage.

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He explained: "I'm very surprised. I'm sure they have good reasons.

"Despite the presence of methane, carbon dioxide or even carbon monoxide, normally you would expect they (the rescuers) would have the equipment available which would allow people to at least go in and do the surveys to asses the air in the mine.

"They are clearly concerned. You don't want to put rescuers in harm's way."

Two injured miners stumbled to the surface hours after the blast shot up the 354ft (108m) ventilation shaft at the mine yesterday.

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Pike River Mine's chief executive, Peter Whittall, said nothing had been heard from the 16 employees and 13 contract miners since the blast and repeated attempts to contact the 29 men had failed.

"We can't risk sending men into the mine until we know exactly what (the quality of the gas) is," he said.

A coal-gas explosion was the most likely cause of the major blast, Mr Whittall said.

Messages of support and offers of assistance were last night flooding in from all across the world.

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Mr Whittall said officials would have enough information later today to decide whether a rescue team can go in, adding that the missing miners would have to deal with such hazards as air pollution, high levels of methane and carbon dioxide, and low levels of oxygen.

It could be days before it is safe enough for special teams to enter the mine, said Tony Kokshoorn, mayor of nearby Greymouth.

Electricity went out shortly before the explosion and it is feared the power cut may have caused ventilation problems and contributed to a build-up of gas.

Mr Whittall said rescue crews were trying to get accurate gas samples as they could not risk sending men in until they had definitive tests.

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Families of the missing men and the local community were said to be "grief-stricken" over the news.

Pike River spokesman Dick Knapp confirmed the mine had been rocked by a gas explosion, but said its cause was still unknown.

Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said the explosion happened at about 3.45pm (0245 GMT Friday).

The two men who surfaced were taken to a hospital for treatment for minor injuries and were being interviewed to determine what happened, Mr Whittall said.

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Pike River has operated since 2008, mining a seam with 58.5 million tons of coal, the largest-known deposit of hard coking coal in New Zealand, according to its website.

The mine is not far from the site of one of New Zealand's worst mining disasters - an underground explosion in the state-owned Strongman Mine on January 19, 1967, which killed 19 workers.

Mr Bolderson said today that the chances of a second blast were high after initial readings were taken of the gas levels in the mine.

"Gas samples taken at the mine are turning the wrong way and we are expecting that the second explosion may be forthcoming," he said.

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"At the moment the rescue guys can't get into the mine because of this."

He said a number of families had congregated at a Red Cross centre in nearby Greymouth as the drama unfolded.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office today confirmed that two Britons had been reported missing in the incident.

"Both are residents in New Zealand and both families have been offered consular assistance," a spokesman said.

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One of the missing Britons is understood to be Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire in Scotland.

The former Perth Grammar pupil emigrated to New Zealand two years ago to be closer to his mother and sister who live there, according to the Courier newspaper. He was formerly an offshore oil engineer.

Foreign Secretary William Hague, in Lisbon for the Nato summit, said that everything possible would be done to assist the families of the missing Britons.

"Our High Commission in New Zealand is working with the New Zealand authorities to help to contact relatives. There will be consular assistance wherever possible," he told Sky News.

"We will also be in touch with any relatives in the UK and so we are working on that. It is a very worrying situation and we will do our utmost to assist."

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