Pike River mine re-entry: A momentous day captured in pictures
Tuesday, 21 May 2019
The Pike River re-entry crew steps into the mine drift. (Video first published on May 21, 2019)
After waiting nearly nine years, it was always going to be an emotional day for the families affected by the Pike River mine disaster.
On Tuesday, those families cried and cheered as they watched the mine being opened for re-entry for the first time since 29 workers were killed there in 2010.
Balloons were released to the sky at a ceremony near the mine entrance.A glass-encased statue near the mine entrance.Chief operating officer/site senior executive Dinghy Pattinson.The mine re-entry was years in the making.An emotional Anna Osborne at the Pike River mine re-opening.The crew said the re-entry was 'the start of a journey'.The re-entry into the mine went as planned.The team found the drift in 'really good condition'.A three-person team explored the mine drift.Pike River Recovery Agency chief operating officer Dinghy Pattinson leads his team into the mine on Tuesday.Twenty-nine men died in the 2010 Pike River mine disaster.Mine equipment is driven towards the mine entrance.The Pike River mine was reopened for the first time since the 2010 explosion.Anna Osborne lost her husband Milton in the disaster.It was an emotional day for victims' families.
