Pike River survivor sees loader for first time since explosion 10 years ago
Wednesday, 5 August 2020
A survivor of the Pike River Mine disaster says there are nights he can't sleep because no-one has been held accountable for what happened.
The loader being driven by Russell Smith when the mine exploded nearly 10 years ago was towed out on Tuesday night by the Pike River Recovery Agency. It was found 1563 metres up the 2.3-kilometre drift access tunnel.
Smith was a coal cutter at the Pike River underground mine and was late for work the day of the explosion. He was driving up the drift in the loader when he was nearly killed by the force of the blast.
His colleague Daniel Rockhouse rescued him out of the mine, where 29 other men died.
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Smith said the loader's removal was an important milestone in the recovery efforts, which he hoped would lead to answers, accountability and justice.
Its removal would help the recovery team get to an important area known as Pit Bottom in Stone, which may hold vital evidence about the cause of the explosions.
'The loader is a wee bit like a door to the vault. It's a big heavy thing and it's in their road and now they've got it they are ready to go into the vault and all the evidence is on that side of it,” Smith said on Wednesday.
“They haven't had anyone go in to tamper with anything or destroy any evidence. It's untouched.“
He said it was 'spectacular' watching the loader come out of the mine, in the dark surrounded by mist, lights, police and mine recovery staff wearing hi-vis vests.
He had relived surviving the blast many times over the years and felt frustrated, like many other Pike River families, that the recovery had taken so long.
Smith was also frustrated no-one had been held to account, as he believed the mine had prioritised production over safety.
'I don't show emotion to anyone but it's at night that I can't sleep thinking about it. I've lost some sleep over the past 10 years,' he said.
Smith’s wife, Jo Smith, said she was “very emotional” when the loader came out.
‘’It was just amazing to see the process … [but] why has this taken 10 years?” she said.
“One of the guys was sitting in Russell’s seat, driving it out … I was very emotional just to see it after all these years. All these feelings came up.”
Her husband was stoic as he watched the loader appear from the tunnel, she said.
“Russell doesn’t show emotion. He has sleepless nights and that is how it shows with him.”
She said the loader was very rusty and had damage from the force of the blast on one panel.
Pike River Recovery Agency chief operating officer Dinghy Pattinson said it was a “complex task”.
“It is not just about recovering the loader, it also involves full forensics and the gathering of evidence,” he said.
Minister for Pike River Recovery Andrew Little will visit the mine site on Thursday.
Russell Smith previously told Stuff he hunkered down in the loader as the force of the explosion hit him.
He remembered struggling to use his self-rescuer until a “peacefulness” came over him. An electrician who ventured into the tunnel was the first to find him.
“He said I was lying starfish, head downhill, looking straight up in the air. He honestly thought I was dead and his machine was cutting out, and he just had to try and save himself and reverse out as quick as he could,” he said.
Rockhouse had been further up the tunnel and found Smith on his way out.
“When Rocky came towards me he said I was like in the praying position. I had obviously got up a bit. He pulled my hair back and my eyes were rolling around, so I was obviously coming around.”
Smith emerged from the mine, with Rockhouse's help, nearly two hours after the blast.
Police were on site to film and photograph the recovered loader as it emerged from the drift on Tuesday and it was taken to a helicopter landing area opposite the lower administration buildings.