The rescue of 29 miners in New Zealand is fraught with frustration. It took days to organise a remote control robot to enter the mine to determine whether it was safe for men to start rescue crews. But it broke down after water got into the casing, causing it to short circuit. They have organized another robot which is coming from America when there is one available in Australia only hours away. As hope fades, frustrated relatives are pleading with organisers to let them go in and get their loved ones and to hell with the explovive poisonous gases.
The most frustrating thing is that they refuse to send a rescue team in until they are sure it's safe but meanwhile, the clock it ticking. These men left for work 5 days ago with a bottle of water and a packed lunch. Hard to believe they would send a robot into the mine without waterproofing it, what on earth were they thinking? The Mayor said "They knew there was water in the tunnel, why didn't they Glad Wrap it? Hard rock layers have slowed drilling and a diamond-tipped drill wasn't brought in until this morning so the chances of getting food and water to the men is probably too late.
The youngest miner was so excited about his new job he persuaded mining bosses to let him start his first shift 3 days early. David Dunbar was one day past his 17th birthday the day of the explosion.
One of the two workers who escaped Daniel Rockhouse 24, described the explosion as being like an oversized shotgun blast. The explosition smashed him into the mine wall and knocked him out. When he came to he staggered to a nearby compressed air line to breathe in fresh air. "I got up and there was thick white smoke everywhere - worse than a fire. I knew straight away it was carbon monoxide." His brother Ben remains underground. "I couldn't see anything - it was dead quiet. I yelled "Help, somebody help me" but no one came, there was no one there." He stumbled towards the exit and eventually found the unconscious body of Russell Smith, the other survivor. He started dragging Smith until he woke up, then the two men stumbled through the dark haze and reached the surface nearly two hours after the explosion.
It seems obvious to me that the people running this rescue are a bunch of amateurs and I hope they will be held accountable for their neglect of safety issues and pathetic rescue efforts when it's all over. The union should be screaming bloody murder about this unprofessional rescue effort.
Footnote: Yesterday, Wednesday, 24th November, relatives were told that there had been another explosion which was bigger than the first one and that it was now certain there would be no survivors. Plain clothes policemen were among the group of shattered loved ones because it was feared they would attack those responsible for the rescue. A full enquiry into the disaster will be held.
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