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Fourth blast rocks NZ mine

28 November 2010 05:07 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Another explosion has rocked the Pike River Coal mine in New Zealand, where 29 miners earlier perished, APA reports quoting smh.com.au website.

The blast shortly before 2pm (12:00 AEDT) on Sunday was the fourth in the mine since an explosion on November 12 trapped 29 men in the mine.

Another blast on Wednesday dashed any hopes that the miners might be found alive.
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There were 24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two Scots and a South African who died in the mine near Greymouth.

A third explosion tore through the mine on Friday afternoon.

There were no injuries from Sundayâ€™s explosion and people working near the entrance to the mine were moved away from the area for their safety.

Superintendent Dave Cliff said the latest explosion demonstrated the volatility of the environment surrounding the mine.

â€˜â€˜Our focus continues to be on the safety of those people working at the mine site and the recovery team.

â€˜â€˜We are doing all we can to progress the recovery operation, however the explosion reinforces the risks involved in working in this environment and the requirement to put peopleâ€™s safety first.â€™â€™

NZPA was told that Sundayâ€™s explosion blew away some of the infrastructure on top of the shaft.