NZ Police: All 29 Trapped Miners Feared Dead

Image- NZHerald

A second, more powerful blast rocked the Pike River Coal mine on New Zealand's South Island on Nov. 24th where 29 miners had been trapped since an initial blast on the afternoon of November 19. Police superintendent Gary Knowles said that there was no chance any of the trapped men could've survived the second blast, which lasted for as long as 30 seconds.

A third and fourth blast a few days later was strong enough to ignite the coal in the mine, further damaging the mine's already crippled ventilation system and setting some of the nearby vegetation above-ground on fire. The most recent development is that the damaged ventialtion system has been capped, which will allow the GAG unit brought in from Australia (basically a jet engine designed to supress underground coal fires) to work more efficiently.

On Friday, Dec 10th, as police announced that they would hand over recovery operation to Pike River Coal management, the company said layoffs for most of the 90 remaining full time staff were likely by next month.

With the well-deserved jubilation surrounding the successful rescue of the 33 miners in Chile, this comes as a particularly harsh kick in the gut. Perhaps most tragic was the story of 17 year old Joseph Dunbar, who was eager to start his new job at Pike River and was among those trapped in the intial blast on his first day.

The 29 miners have been identified as:
Conrad Adams, 43 (Greymouth)
Malcolm Campbell, 25 (Greymouth - Scottish)
Glen Cruse, 35 (Cobden)
Allan Dixon, 59 (Runanga)
Zen Drew, 21 (Greymouth)
Christopher Duggan, 31 (Greymouth)
Joseph Dunbar, 17 (Greymouth)
John Hale, 45 (Ruatapu)
Daniel Herk, 36 (Runanga)
David Hoggart, 33 (Foxton)
Richard Holling, 41 (Blackball)
Andrew Hurren, 32 (Greymouth)
Jacobus 'Koos' Jonker, 47 (Coben - South African)
William Joynson, 49 (Dunollie - Australian)
Riki Keane, 28 (Greymouth)
Terry Kitchin, 41 (Runanga)
Samuel Mackie, 26 (Greymouth)
Francis Marden, 42 (Runanga)
Michael Monk, 23 (Greymouth)
Stuart Mudge, 31 (Runanga)
Kane Nieper, 33 (Greymouth)
Peter O'Neill, 55 (Runanga)
Milton Osborne, 54 (Ngahere)
Brendon Palmer, 27 (Cobden)
Benjamin Rockhouse, 21 (Greymouth)
Peter Rodger, 40 (Greymouth - British)
Blair Sims, 28 (Greymouth)
Joshua Ufer 25 (Australia)
Keith Valli, 62 (Winton)