Police cameras struggle to access Pike River shaft due to pipe damage

Friday, 29 January 2021

Families gather for the 10th anniversary of the Pike River mine disaster at the Atarau memorial near Greymouth. (Video first published November 19, 2020)

The latest bid to probe deeper into the Pike River mine has hit a setback after pipes being used to guide cameras were found to be too damaged.

The police operation, effectively the first unmanned re-entry of the mine workings, involved deploying remotely-operated cameras down three pipelines leading from the West Coast mine’s access tunnel, or drift, into the mine.

Cameras were to be sent along three pipelines at the Pike River mine to look deep into the area where 29 men died.

A camera that will be put down three 300mm pipes at Pike River.

* Pike River mine workers reach seal at the top of the mine drift

Map of Pike River mine from the Royal Commission which shows the development areas where the bodies have been found

* New borehole into Pike River mine could investigate cause of explosion

However, police confirmed on Friday evening while the camera was successfully deployed into each pipe, they were unable to penetrate beyond the rockfall due to the extent of damage to each pipe.

Police said they would not be releasing any imagery from the camera deployment as the work was still ongoing.

Police are still investigating any criminal culpability for the 2010 disaster with the help of a $50 million Government-funded re-entry of the mine’s drift by the Pike River Recovery Agency.

The aim is to find evidence for a criminal prosecution and discover the cause of the explosion that killed 29 men.

The mine workings were blocked by a roof collapse 2.3 kilometres up the drift. The area was being pumped with nitrogen for the recovery work.