Police acknowledge for first time they are preparing for 'loss of life' as breakdown of robot adds to downcast mood
Families of the men trapped in a mine in New Zealand were today told to prepare for the worst, as police acknowledged for the first time they were preparing for a "loss of life".
Tonight, a borehole into the mine where the 29 miners have been trapped for four days was nearing completion. Explosive gases prevented an earlier rescue.
However, lingering hopes that the miners could emerge alive faded further when a robot belonging to the New Zealand army broke down after it was sent in to check conditions and film the underground area – which was still deemed too dangerous for rescuers to enter because of the gases.
The rescue team hope to take delivery of another robot from western Australia but four days on from when the men became trapped the mood was downcast.
"The longer this goes on, the more hopes fade," said police superintendent Gary Knowles. He said he was a "realist" and the families had been told "all options" were possible.
"We will not go underground until the environment's good," he added.
Trevor Watts, the head of New Zealand Mine Rescue, said: "I can't explain the frustration our boys feel at not being able to deploy underground. It's heart wrenching."
However, anger and frustration have been mounting over the stalled rescue, and there have been questions over the readiness of a mining industry thought to be among the most safety-conscious in the world to cope with such a disaster.
Authorities were tonight finishing drilling the 15cm-wide shaft into the mine tunnel, which will provide a better idea of the air quality inside the area where the miners were believed to be trapped by Friday's blast.
Rescue teams were also using seismic devices, which would detect if any survivors were trying to signal to rescuers by tapping on the rock. So far, no tapping has been detected.
Two Britons, Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire, and Malcolm Campbell, 25, from Fife, are among those trapped in the Pike River mine in Greymouth in the South Island after the explosion, which is believed to have been caused by a methane gas leak.
Two workers stumbled out of the mine within hours of the explosion, but there has been no contact with the missing 29. A phone line deep inside the mine has rung unanswered for days.
The Pike River Coal chief executive, Peter Whittall, gave an idea of the conditions in which the men are trapped. The only food they would have had access to over the past three days – if they could reach the break areas where it was stored – was that which they had brought in for their shift, although fresh water was plentiful. The miners' cap lamps, which only have a 24-hour battery life, were likely to be flat by now, he added. "It will be quite hot … there's not a lot of ventilation down there," he said.
Methane and other toxic gases – some believed to be coming from a smouldering fire deep underground – have been detected in the network of tunnels, and officials fear another explosion could occur if rescuers enter.
Checks are under way to make sure the robot would not cause a spark or otherwise ignite flammable gases.
Police have said the miners, aged between 17 and 62, are believed to be about 1.2 miles down the tunnel.
source: http://www.guardian.co.uk
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