New Zealand miners feared trapped underground by suspected gas blast No deaths reported but there are fears the air supply could be running out msnbc.com staff and news service reports updated 6 minutes ago 2010-11-19T10:59:32 WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Rescue teams were searching for 27 people feared trapped after an explosion ripped through New Zealand's largest coal mine Friday, its operating company said. Five miners stumbled to the surface, including one who was blown off his vehicle by the blast while working at about 5,000 feet into the mine. Police said the electricity in the mine went out shortly before the blast and this may have caused ventilation problems. Police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn stressed it was too early to say why the explosion occurred, but one mine safety expert said a gas explosion was a possible cause. The new mine, which only began shipping coal this year, is dug into the side of a mountain range in a remote area near the town of Atarau in the country's rugged South Island, burrowing into a deposit that, according to one recent visitor, was relatively gaseous. Rescue teams and emergency workers rushed by helicopter and by road to the mine, but had not entered because of the potential danger of any gas build-up. 'Not good news at all' “It's not good news at all,” Tony Kokshoorn, the mayor of nearby Greymouth, told National Radio. “We don't know at what depth the explosion is but there's certainly a big explosion. With a bit of luck, things might be OK.” New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key said the government would do whatever it could, according to the New Zealand Herald. “Our hearts and thoughts go out to them [affected families] at this time. It will be a very worrying time for them,” he said, the newspaper reported. “It has the potential to be a very serious situation.” The Herald said relatives of the missing miners had started to gather outside the site, in scenes reminiscent of the recent Chilean mining accident, which ended with the rescue of 33 trapped men after weeks underground. The Atarau mine's operator, Pike River Coal, initially said the number could be around 30, but chief executive Peter Whittall later amended that, saying 27 people were missing — 15 miners employed by the company and 12 local contractors. Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said the explosion happened at about 3:45 p.m. (9:45 p.m. ET)and the last contact with any of the miners was about half an hour later. Brownlee said emergency exit tunnels were built into the mine but that he didn't know if they could be accessed by the miners. Whittall said two miners, including the machine operator who was blown off his vehicle, had walked out at first and three more emerged later. One of the men had been able to make a call on his cell phone before reaching the surface, he said. Whittall said he was not aware of any deaths caused by the blast. “Whether they (the miners) are trapped or choosing to stay underground and shelter from whatever the extent of the incident is, we don't know at this stage,” Whittall told Television 3. He told the New Zealand Herald that the miners were up to 1.5 miles into the mine, but could actually only be about 120 feet below the surface because it drills into the side of the mountain. The coal seam is more than 600 feet underground. One vertical ventilation shaft rises 354 feet from the tunnel to the surface, according to the company's website. This was blocked by falling rocks within the shaft in early 2009, delaying mining for months. Whittall said the horizontal mine tunnel would make the rescue effort easier than if the shaft was at a steep angle. “We're not a deep-shafted mine so men and rescue teams can get in and out quite effectively, and they'll be able to explore the mine quite quickly,” he said. “They will work throughout the night and they'll work until they can go right throughout the mine and determine the extent of the incident and the safety of our employees.” He said the men were trained to go to a place of safety and wait after an incident, he told the Herald. “Every worker carried a safety rescue device at all times including a breathing apparatus with oxygen,” Whittall told the paper. “I personally know every employee of the company … I know what the shift is and who the men are on that shift, and I'm still waiting to get a full list of the employees involved,” Whittall added. Air supply affected? The men who came to the surface were taken to a hospital for treatment of light injuries. “They're being interviewed and we're trying to determine … the full nature of the incident,” Whittall said. It was not immediately clear if all of those underground were together or in separate groups. “There is concern that ventilation inside the mine shaft may be compromised by the power outage,” Dunn, the police spokeswoman, said. Mine safety expert David Feickert said the blast could have been a gas explosion. “There are different kinds of explosions that can occur in a coal mine — methane gas, coal gas and so on,” he said. “If rescue teams can go in, that's good news indeed.” The Greymouth district's deputy mayor, Doug Truman, told Reuters by phone he had visited the mine and understood the coal deposit to be gaseous, but he stressed the safety standards there were very high and the workers highly trained. “It's a very high-quality coal but it's gaseous — but they know that,” Truman said. Rescue crews were assembling at the opening of the mine but had not yet entered. Dunn said the rescuers had to make sure it was safe before entering the mine, the New Zealand Herald reported. “They're itching to get in there and start looking for other people and a bit frustrated at having to stand and wait,” Ms Dunn said. St. John Ambulance service said three rescue helicopters and six ambulances had headed to the mine. Pike River has been operating since 2008, mining a seam with 58.5 million tons of coal, the largest-known deposit of hard coking coal in New Zealand, according to its website. Pike River says its coal preparation plant at the site is the largest and most modern in New Zealand and processes up to 1.5 million tons of raw coal a year. The mine is not far from the site of one of New Zealand's worst mining disasters — an underground explosion in the state-owned Strongman Mine on Jan. 19, 1967, that killed 19 workers. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. added by: EthicalVegan
