The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, 46 km (29 mi) northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island following a methane explosion at approximately 3:44 pm (NZDT, UTC+13). The accident resulted in the deaths of 29 miners.
The Pike River Mine incident ranks as New Zealand's worst mining disaster since 1914, when 43 men died at Ralph's Mine in Huntly. It also resulted in the country's worst loss of life caused by a single disaster since the 1979 crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901, although it was surpassed three months later by the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.[2]
At the time of the explosion 31 miners and contractors were below ground. Two miners managed to walk from the mine and were treated for moderate injuries. The remaining 16 miners and 13 contractors were believed to be at least 1.5 km (1,600 yd) from the mine's entrance at the time of the initial explosion.
Subsequent explosions on 24, 26 and 28 November ended any hopes of any further survivors and raised serious doubt that any bodies would ever be recovered.[3][4][5][6][7]
In December 2012, Prime Minister John Key said he would apologise in person to the families of the dead, for the government's weak regulations and inadequate inspection regime.[8]
In 2017 the Government established a new Pike River Recovery Agency, with re-entry expected by March 2019. It reported to the Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry, Andrew Little. Re-entry was expected to cost $23 million over three years. The agency took over the mine from Solid Energy, after it entered liquidation in mid-March 2018. In February 2021, the Pike River Recovery Agency reported that it had reached a point 2.2km up the mine access tunnel to the site of a rockfall. This was the furthest point into the mine that the agency planned to go, and the work to this point had cost approximately $50million. On 23 March 2021, the Minister responsible for Pike River Re-entry, Andrew Little, stated that it was too hard and too expensive to go any further into the mine.
The accident led to significant changes in occupational safety legislation, with the passage of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the establishment of WorkSafe New Zealand.
^John Hartevelt; Amy Glass; Kirsty Johnston; Andrea Vance; Michael Fox (29 November 2010). "Pike River disaster inquiry announced". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
^Evans, Adrian (24 November 2010). "Pike River joins list of mining tragedies". New Zealand Herald.
^Beswick, Angela. "Pike River: Second explosion, no survivors". 3 News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
^Stevenson, Andrew (24 November 2010). "New blast: all miners feared dead". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
^"Third explosion "won't set back recovery"". TVNZ. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
^NZPA (28 November 2010). "More blasts at Pike River mine". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
^"Pike dead may never be recovered: Solid Energy". MiningNews. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012.
^"Key to apologise to Pike families". 3 News. 10 December 2012.
and 25 Related for: Pike River Mine disaster information
the PikeRiverMinedisaster that occurred on 19 November 2010, leading to the deaths of 29 men whose remains have not been recovered. The mine and its...
developments from the mining disaster. On 12 December 2010 the company was placed in receivership. PikeRiverMine is a coal mine located 46 km east of Greymouth...
PikeRiverMinedisaster to plan and facilitate the manned re-entry of the mine's drift. The Agency's purpose was to gather evidence on the disaster with...
33 miners were rescued. November 19, 2010: PikeRiverMinedisaster in New Zealand. At 3:45 pm, the coal mine exploded. 29 men underground died immediately...
coal mine. Twenty-nine out of 31 miners at the site were killed. November 19, 2010: PikeRiverMinedisaster, New Zealand. At 3:45 pm, the coal mine exploded...
Mining in New Zealand Mining accident Brunner MinedisasterPikeRiverMinedisaster "19 killed in Strongman mine explosion at Runanga ", NZHistory "Old miner...
created as a memorial for the 29 miners who lost lives in the PikeRiverMinedisaster. The track is a branch of the Paparoa Track, the tenth Great Walk...
created as a memorial for the 29 miners who lost their lives in the PikeRiverMinedisaster. The track is the tenth Great Walk to be created and has been fully...
Zealand High Court judge. He chaired the Royal Commission into the PikeRiverMinedisaster. Born in Reefton in 1945, Panckhurst was educated at Reefton District...
1925. "NEW ZEALAND DISASTERS AND TRAGEDIES – SINKING OF MV KAITAWA – 1966". Retrieved 15 September 2016. Beswick, Angela. "PikeRiver: Second explosion...
Retrieved 15 March 2014. Evander, Robert Ricci (September 18, 1986). "Minedisaster toll rises to 177". Glasgow Herald. p. 4. "Forest fire, the largest...
lengthy problems with the new DL class locomotives PikeRiverMinedisaster, leading to the mine's closure and the loss of revenue that had been anticipated...
2013 she published Tragedy at PikeRiverMine: How and Why 29 Men Died, a non-fiction work on the PikeRiverMinedisaster that claimed 29 lives. For her...
13) Zonguldak minedisaster at Zonguldak Province in Turkey (May 17) Copiapó mining accident at Copiapó, Chile (August 5) PikeRiverMine accident near...
Zealand's third deadliest natural disaster, killing 185 people. Addressing the nation, Key said that the disaster "...may well be New Zealand's darkest...
building collapse during the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, and the PikeRiverMinedisaster. As of March 2015 Labour Party leader Andrew Little had a private...
of the 2010 PikeRiverMinedisaster to re-enter the mine to recover their loved ones. Peters publicly stated that re-entry to the mine would be non-negotiable...
(PikeRiver Implementation) Bill. The bill was made after a recommendation by a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 2010 PikeRiverMinedisaster, which...
Global Information
