Fast reaction saves miner in shaft flood

Quick thinking saved the life of Greymouth miner Gary David Haddow when water rushed into the West Coast mine where he and a co-worker were mining.

Senior Sergeant Clifford Paxton of Greymouth said Mr Haddow, 51, and Robert James McGowan, 39, both of Rununga, had to run for their lives on Wednesday along the mine shaft at the private Tillers Mine, 10km from Greymouth, when a shot they had let off resulted in water rushing in.

Mr Haddow escaped the torrent by jumping to grab a "roof pen" about 1.8m off the ground, Mr Paxton said.

He was found safe and well at 7pm on Wednesday, but was taken to hospital overnight for observation.

Mr McGowan's body was found at 2.30am yesterday, Mr Paxton said. He was married with four children.

Don Ladner, former national manager of Mines Rescue, was one of nine rescuers who found Mr Haddow and helped to recover Mr McGowan's body.

"It was quite a huge relief when one of our rescue guys thought he heard a noise," Mr Ladner said.

"We shut one of the air pumps off and he climbed into the water. There was probably a 3 inch or 4 inch [7.5cm to 10cm] gap underneath the sets [timber frames holding up the mine] that he could see a light.

"At that point we realised there was somebody alive."

Another man dived into the water and the two rescuers linked themselves and swam under the framing to bring the survivor out.

Mr Haddow, himself a member of the mines rescue team, was 50m away when rescuers heard him.

"He might be in his 50s but he's extremely fit. He would have known there was a response action happening, so it was basically sit and wait."

Mr Haddow had already found his workmate and confirmed he was dead.

After rescuers helped him out they had to wait about seven hours for water to recede to recover Mr McGowan's body. About 25 people were involved, including electricians and engineers from Solid Energy.

Tiller's Mine was an old established mine, Mr Ladner said, but new owners had taken over about 18 months ago and were redeveloping it.

He believed there was a discrepancy between old and new surveys of the mine. Both miners were experienced and had taken the usual safety precautions, Mr Ladner said.

"But you really can't beat Mother Earth if there's a fracture or a weak part of the ground. This is what they've struck, I imagine."

- NZPA