Pike River families claim 'vital' evidence from mine explosion has been lost

Sunday, 17 February 2019

Families of the Pike River miners say critical evidence has been lost during the initial investigation into the disaster.

A group representing some of the families of men who died in the Pike River Mine say critical evidence disappeared during the initial investigation.

The cover of an electrical cabinet was blown to the surface in one of the explosions that rocked the West Coast mine, north of Greymouth, in 2010, killing 29 men.

After it was photographed, Tony Forster, a former mines chief inspector now advising the Pike River families, told TVNZ he understood it was flown by helicopter to the Pike River office. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

'It blows my mind that something as significant as that, in an area that the Royal Commission centred on, has gone missing,' he said.

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Sonya Rockhouse, who lost her son Ben in the disaster, said a lot of electrical equipment in the mine was not designed for mine conditions, and was unsafe. It was outrageous the cabinet piece had gone missing, she said.

'I don't think any New Zealander wants to live in a country where 29 men die like this and then critical evidence disappears.'

Efforts are ramping up to re-enter the mine. Police said last week they would not accompany the first re-entry team due to safety concerns, but would reconsider if there was a critical find, such as human remains.

A post on the 'Stand with Pike' Facebook page about the missing cabinet piece said finding it could determine the cause of the explosion that killed the miners.

'There are so many questions and there is so much to uncover,' the post said.

Police Assistant Commissioner Tusha Penny said she first became aware of the matter last week, and police were making enquiries.

'Police would like to hear from anyone with information which could assist us on this, or any other issue which may be relevant to the original investigation.'

Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton died at Pike, said she wanted to know why the company responsible for the mine had their hands on evidence like the missing cabinet piece.

'All I can say is it's a good thing we fought so hard for re-entry and re-investigation, because with each day it's clear there's more that New Zealand needs to know.'

Police still planned to complete a full forensic examination once the drift was fully recovered.

They decided in 2013 to leave the criminal investigation open until the scene could be examined. Any new evidence would be used to determine whether charges could be laid.