Families angry at delay in release of mine footage

The entrance of the Pike River mine. Photo / Simon Baker

The mood among families was "not very happy" at this morning's briefing on the rescue of 29 trapped in the Pike River mine, the father of one of the miners says.

Lawrie Drew, the father of missing miner Zen Drew, told the Herald that relatives were annoyed they had not been shown security camera footage of Friday's mine blast until yesterday.

"The anger is getting worse with a lot of other people. I'm not angry I'm annoyed. The truth wasn't told from the beginning," Mr Drew said.

Officials have known about the film for days, but did not reveal its existence until yesterday.

"They would have had it [the video] Friday night. They could have showed it to us Saturday morning and saved us a little bit of anguish. It would have allowed us to progress through our minds emotionally," Mr Drew said.

"Families would have appreciated seeing things sooner. Peter [Whittall] would have wanted it shown but others thought it wasn't necessary."

Mr Drew said the most frustrating thing for families was the lack of information.

"The only tension is we are not being told what's going on. It's not what we want to see happen. We want confirmation."

At this morning's meeting families were told that gases in the mine were still volatile.

Mr Drew said the families were frustrated that they were not allowed to go to the mine site.

Survivor holding onto hope

Miner Daniel Rockhouse, who walked out of the mine with minor injuries after the blast, said he was holding onto hope but was "pretty distraught".

His brother Ben is still trapped in the mine.

"Everyone needs to pray for [the missing miners] as well. This gives Pike River staff and Mines Rescue all the support they need. Hang in there. I guess it's a waiting game," Mr Rockhouse said.

He said he thought rescuers were doing everything they could.

"I don't expect other guys to risk their lives when it's just pointless to go in. If they go in there they're going to get killed."

Asked whether he thought officials were doing a good job, he replied: "Definitely. I just wish they'd get an intrinsically safe one [robot] that's not going to short-out with water."

Labour leader Phil Goff was at the briefing and said he saw "enormous stress".

"People have been living with that awful uncertainty of what has happened to their loved ones. They just want to know what has happened. Frustration becomes anger and this is an absolutely human response."

'Time to go in'

Geoff Valli, whose brother Keith is down the mine, earlier told Radio New Zealand he was tired of hearing about the delays in the rescue.

"They need to go in and have a look," he said. "We ain't got the time."

Mr Valli acknowledged he would feel "absolutely terrible" if there was a second explosion and rescuers lost their lives, but questioned how the rescuers will feel if the miners lost their lives and could have been saved.

"It's time for men to do what men have got to do," he said.

Mr Valli said his brother had been mining all his life and was a "good bugger".

"He's quiet, unassuming, as solid as a rock."

Mr Valli said he had hope, but that it was "not there for ever".

Robots

A Defence Force robot that broke down in the Pike River mine yesterday has been restarted and has gone deeper into the mine, with a second Army robot also moving into the tunnel.

A more advanced robot from Western Australia has also arrived on the West Coast to help in the rescue operation.

Police said the first Defence Force robot had been restarted overnight and had travelled another 500m into the tunnel, before being stopped at the 1km mark.

A spokesperson confirmed that a second Defence Force robot was now also in the tunnel.

'No timeline on people's lives'

Superintendent Gary Knowles, who is leading the operation, this morning told Radio New Zealand he had confidence in his leadership.

"It's one of those situations where we will remain positive," he said. "We're going to keep working around the clock."

Hopes are starting to fade for the 29 miners, but Mr Knowles said efforts would continue.

"I'm not going to put a timeline on people's lives."