Pike dad ventures into mine that took his son
Bernie Monk has ventured into the mine where his son Michael was killed to show New Zealand it’s safe to try to recover his body — and those of the other Pike River victims.
Four months ago, the Pike River Agency allowed several family members, including Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse, into the drift.
Last week it was Bernie Monk’s turn to go 30 metres into the mine with a recovery team.
Monk says he’s bitter the bodies haven’t yet been recovered.
Being in the drift made him want to tear the wall down and do the job himself.
But he says they have skilled people that will start doing that by the end of the year.
Monk says the families have been fighting for eight years to enter the mine.
Twenty-nine men were killed in the November 2010 methane explosion. Their bodies remain entombed inside, despite their families’ repeated pleas to retrieve them.
Monk was accompanied inside the mine last Thursday by Newshub journalist Patrick Gower, who yesterday said it was “an incredibly emotional moment to be there”.
Monk had touched and gripped the wall at the entrance to the portal.
“For me personally it was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen to see a father who has fought so hard to be so close to his son,” Gower told The AM Show.
Pike River Minister Andrew Little is leading the body recovery plans.
Technical experts have consulted on the prospect of re-entering the drift at the Pike River Mine and agreed although it was very complex, it was still feasible, he has said.
“Once you get into the detail, it is more challenging than they had thought,” Little said in July.
“We now have a concept plan. Before I sign off on that I want to [see if the families are] happy with it.”