Pike River mine reentry set for Friday
WELLINGTON: Final preparations are under way for the formal reentry into the Pike River mine next week.
The Pike River Recovery Agency has been working for months to reenter the drift, a 2.3km tunnel that leads up to the mine workings.
The bodies of 29 men are still inside the mine after it exploded in 2010.
A ceremony marking the reentry of the mine is expected to be held on
Friday next week.
The agency’s chief operating officer, Dinghy Pattinson, said staff were still reviewing all procedures to ensure the entry was safe.
He said they would spend the week cutting through concrete to get to the drift.
‘‘We know where the door is inside the wall, so we will be cutting around that door and we will also be cutting a hole for our ventilation ducting to go through,’’ he said.
‘‘When we put people in through those doors, we’ve actually got to have the area ventilated inside as well.’’
Once the first seal was breached, a loader would bring out the concrete and then three people would enter the tunnel.
‘‘You go back eight years and we left a note saying we would return and to me that’s the first part of that journey, really,’’ Mr Pattinson said.
On site, police have turned the mine administration block into their base in preparation for the reentry.
While they will not be sending any forensic staff into the mine, about six officers will be processing any evidence that comes out.
Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Collins said the base had two separate, secure exhibit areas.
One area would be used to dry out evidence, while the other would be used to keep important findings.
‘‘Any items that are identified that are significant in terms of evidence or that will be uplifted as an exhibit and brought out [of the mine are] recorded in situ. They are documented before [they] are moved, then the item goes into a sealed bag, into a box which is security tagged, then at the completion of the shift, the box comes out in the tagged state and is handed over to police.’’ — RNZ