Well, when I wrote that last post Friday afternoon, I and most of NZ really had no idea how serious the situation was. But by Saturday I had a gut feeling that no one was likely to have survived the first blast. Pike River has been like no other similar event because it played out over a few days before reaching a dramatic conclusion mid-week. We waited and watched until, with the second explosion, the authorities determined no one could have survived.
My maps, shown in the previous post, have been updated to be a bit more useful and this one below shows more detail which was obtained from various publications on Pike River’s website.
View Larger Map
I personally think it likely that the mine will have to come under new ownership to continue. It was already in financial difficulty, now with the amount of damage caused underground by the blasts and the lengthy closure period due to enquiries and rebuilding, it is unlikely to be able to continue in its current form. Besides, even if the accident is shown not to be PRCC’s fault, there is still a price to be paid for 29 deaths.
