There will be a big disappointment if anyone hope happy developments like what happened in Chile.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/wait-for-nz-mine-rescue-goes-on-20101122-182ro.html
Wait for NZ mine rescue goes on
November 22, 2010 - 2:49AM
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NZPA
Half-hourly monitoring of gases in New Zealand's Pike River mine, where 29 men including two Australians remain trapped, are continuing, but the wait to rescue them goes on.
Rescuers are ready and waiting to enter the West Coast mine but will not do so until gas readings show consistently safe levels of carbon monoxide, methane and ethane.
Police Response Co-ordinator Superintendent Kelvin Powell said on Monday that monitoring of toxic gas levels in the mine continued overnight.
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"This monitoring will allow first responders the earliest opportunity possible to judge when it is safe enough to allow teams to enter the mine and bring the men out," he said.
"This operation is a fine balancing act. We know families and friends are anxious to hear news of their loved ones and all response personnel are totally focused on bringing the men home."
Tasman District police area commander Superintendent Gary Knowles told reporters on Sunday there was no "quick fix".
"We're into day two. We have no idea how long this will take but we are still focused on bringing these guys out," he said.
"This still remains a rescue operation.
"We're still looking at going underground where possible to bring these guys out and we are still dependent ... on a reduction on the levels of gases in those chambers.
"I'm not prepared ... to have people go underground until we're 100 per cent sure it's safe."
Investigators fear there may be an underground fire and are urgently trying to establish how hot it is in the mine.
New Zealand Mines rescue general manager Trevor Watts said gas samples are showing "there may be something else occurring", but information is limited.
"The analysis at the moment is trying to determine if there is a fire in the mine at the moment," he said.
Watts acknowledged they have "no idea" what temperature it is down there -- only that it's likely to be hotter than before the explosion, as "any event that's involved a methane explosion, we know that heat's produced".
"So, yes, the temperature there will certainly be hotter. To what extent, we don't know."
Pike River chief executive Peter Whittall said families have been wanting to know what conditions are like for the miners.
"I've been trying to do my best to give you information as I would imagine it is and as my own background and training would say it is," he said.
"However, I have reiterated on a number of occasions, I just don't know.
"If conditions underground are such that we are having heating, which they appear to be ... then obviously that's a very different condition to what would be experienced in a fresh air area if a miner was holed up anywhere else."
Watts said rescuers are waiting to rescue their "brothers" underground -- including one of their own mine rescue team members.
However, safety is paramount, as rescuers would be the direct path if an explosion occurred.
The logistics of staging a rescue are "vast", involving a 2.5km walk to the first intersection on uphill, uneven terrain carrying 5-10kg of breathing equipment.
"So, this is not an easy 'we can just throw the face masks on people and head into the mine in a hurry' because it's just not that simple."
"We have got to be certain that we are not going to compromise the safety of the miners we are trying to rescue and the rescue teams we will deploy underground."
There are six five-men rescue teams available, comprising mainly local people, supported by Huntly mine rescuers.
A seven-man team from New South Wales is also waiting in Christchurch if needed, and two Australian mines rescue officials are helping with planning.
Their names of the 29 men have not been officially released but could be this morning, depending on the agreement of families.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/wait-for-nz-mine-rescue-goes-on-20101122-182ro.html
Wait for NZ mine rescue goes on
November 22, 2010 - 2:49AM
Ads by Google
StarHub Expat Pack Promo
www.StarHub.com/Expat
Fully Integrated Infocom Packages For Expats. Stay Connected w/Home!
NZPA
Half-hourly monitoring of gases in New Zealand's Pike River mine, where 29 men including two Australians remain trapped, are continuing, but the wait to rescue them goes on.
Rescuers are ready and waiting to enter the West Coast mine but will not do so until gas readings show consistently safe levels of carbon monoxide, methane and ethane.
Police Response Co-ordinator Superintendent Kelvin Powell said on Monday that monitoring of toxic gas levels in the mine continued overnight.
Advertisement: Story continues below
"This monitoring will allow first responders the earliest opportunity possible to judge when it is safe enough to allow teams to enter the mine and bring the men out," he said.
"This operation is a fine balancing act. We know families and friends are anxious to hear news of their loved ones and all response personnel are totally focused on bringing the men home."
Tasman District police area commander Superintendent Gary Knowles told reporters on Sunday there was no "quick fix".
"We're into day two. We have no idea how long this will take but we are still focused on bringing these guys out," he said.
"This still remains a rescue operation.
"We're still looking at going underground where possible to bring these guys out and we are still dependent ... on a reduction on the levels of gases in those chambers.
"I'm not prepared ... to have people go underground until we're 100 per cent sure it's safe."
Investigators fear there may be an underground fire and are urgently trying to establish how hot it is in the mine.
New Zealand Mines rescue general manager Trevor Watts said gas samples are showing "there may be something else occurring", but information is limited.
"The analysis at the moment is trying to determine if there is a fire in the mine at the moment," he said.
Watts acknowledged they have "no idea" what temperature it is down there -- only that it's likely to be hotter than before the explosion, as "any event that's involved a methane explosion, we know that heat's produced".
"So, yes, the temperature there will certainly be hotter. To what extent, we don't know."
Pike River chief executive Peter Whittall said families have been wanting to know what conditions are like for the miners.
"I've been trying to do my best to give you information as I would imagine it is and as my own background and training would say it is," he said.
"However, I have reiterated on a number of occasions, I just don't know.
"If conditions underground are such that we are having heating, which they appear to be ... then obviously that's a very different condition to what would be experienced in a fresh air area if a miner was holed up anywhere else."
Watts said rescuers are waiting to rescue their "brothers" underground -- including one of their own mine rescue team members.
However, safety is paramount, as rescuers would be the direct path if an explosion occurred.
The logistics of staging a rescue are "vast", involving a 2.5km walk to the first intersection on uphill, uneven terrain carrying 5-10kg of breathing equipment.
"So, this is not an easy 'we can just throw the face masks on people and head into the mine in a hurry' because it's just not that simple."
"We have got to be certain that we are not going to compromise the safety of the miners we are trying to rescue and the rescue teams we will deploy underground."
There are six five-men rescue teams available, comprising mainly local people, supported by Huntly mine rescuers.
A seven-man team from New South Wales is also waiting in Christchurch if needed, and two Australian mines rescue officials are helping with planning.
Their names of the 29 men have not been officially released but could be this morning, depending on the agreement of families.
