‘Massive step forward’ for Pike River families

The families of those who died in the Pike River Mine disaster say they have taken ‘‘one massive step forward’’ by entering the mine’s portal.

Pike Family representatives Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse and Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little were among a small group who went 30 metres in to the first concrete seal yesterday – further than relatives have been allowed to go previously.

An explosion in the mine killed 29 men on November 19, 2010. Keith Valli was the only Southlander to be killed in the disaster. Two survivors made it out.

The mine was later deemed too dangerous to re-enter.

Since then, some families of those who lost loved ones have been campaigning to re-enter the mine to recover the bodies and look for evidence of what caused the explosion.

Rockhouse, whose son Ben died in the blast, said it was ‘‘sad and exciting‘‘ to enter the portal.

‘‘It actually felt surreal, couldn’t believe we were there.’’

She said it was ‘‘one massive step forward’’ for getting into the mine again, with most families feeling ‘‘very positive’’ about progress, though some did not support efforts to re-enter the mine.

The Government had been ‘‘totally supportive’’ of the families wanting the mine to be re-entered, Rockhouse said.

‘‘We’re not having to fight for anything, they’re walking alongside us and we’ve got complete I transparency ... it’s a whole different feeling.’’

Little said walking in with the families was an ‘‘emotional journey’’, which demonstrated a safe re-entry was possible.

‘‘We owe it to those families to re-enter the drift and retrieve evidence and the remains of their loved ones.’’

He said progress on safe reentry had been made in the 11 weeks since the Pike River Recovery Agency was established by the Government, and yesterday’s visit proved it.

Pike River Recovery Agency chief executive Dave Gawn said the agency was on track to provide Little with advice about the first stages of manned re-entry of the mine drift within the next couple of months.

The Government has previously said recovery from the drift of the mine was expected to be complete by March 2019.

Anna Osborne, left, and Sonya Rockhouse were able to walk 30 metres into the mine entrance.