Life for 29 coal miners in China; death for 29 in New Zealand's Pike River coal mine

At 2:37pm today (Wednesday, 24 November), a massive second explosion ripped through the Pike River coal mine on the coast of  southern New Zealand, dashing all hopes of rescuing twenty nine (29) miners alive five days after they were trapped underground.  It must have taken great courage for the mine's CEO to face the grieving families and announce the heartbreaking news.

The coal miners--24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two British and one South African--have ages between 17 and 62 years:  Conrad Adams, 43, Malcolm Campbell, 25 (Scottish), Glen Cruse, 35, Allan Dixon, 59, Zen Drew, 21, Christopher Duggan, 31, Joseph Dunbar, 17, John Hale, 45, Daniel Herk, 36, David Hoggart, 33, Richard Holling, 41, Andrew Hurren, 32, Jacobus 'Koos' Jonker, 47 (South African), William Joynson, 49 (Australian), Riki Keane, 28, Terry Kitchin, 41, Samuel Mackie, 26, Francis Marden, 42, Michael Monk, 23, Stuart Mudge, 31, Kane Nieper, 33, Peter O'Neill, 55, Milton Osborne, 54, Brendon Palmer, 27, Benjamin Rockhouse, 21, Peter Rodger, 40 (British), Blair Sims, 28, Joshua Ufer 25 (Australia), and Keith Valli, 62.

Joseph Dunbar is just a boy, an only son.  He turned 17 the day before the accident.  He had always been excited to work in the coal mine, and he could hardly wait to turn 17, the qualifying age to become a miner in New Zealand.  When he stepped into the mine could have been a very great moment for him, but he did not know that death awaited him on his first day on the job,

Then there is Joshua Ufer from Australia.  He was an expectant father, leaving behind a pregnant fiancee. Their first child due in May. 

Rescue operations were delayed by the presence of toxic gases, and another explosion may cost the life of rescue teams should these be dispatched.  Hence, robots were sent in to test the environment and do a visual survey of the accident site.  

The presence of toxic gases doomed the 29 Pike River miners.  On the other hand, it was water that the 29 coal miners in Weiyuan, Sichuan province of China had to contend with.   The Batian coal mine was flooded around noontime Sunday (21 November), and the miners were successfully rescued the next day.

"Pike River joins list of mining tragedies," says Adrian Evans in the New Zealand Herald today, ranking as the "worst national mining disaster in 96 years since 43 coal miners lost their lives at Ralph's mine."  The world has seen major tragedies in coal mines around the world, and Evans cited the following --

• 1942.  1,572 miners killed, Honkeiko coal mine, China
• 1906.  1,099 lives lost,  Courrieres mine, France
• 1907.  362 miners killed,  Monongah, West Virginia, USA
• 1906.  96 men and boys killed, Mt Kembla Mining, Australia
• 2010.  130 miners killed in four separate mine accidents, China
• April 2010.  29 miners killed, West Virginia mine, USA
• May 2010. At least 66 miners killed, Raspadskaya mine, Russia 
• June 2010.  More than 70 miners killed, coal mine in Colombia.

The coal mining industry in New Zealand has also been marked by major accidents, the Pike River tragedy being the latest --

• 21 February 1879.  34 miners died, Kaitangata 
• 26 March 1896.  65 killed,Brunner 
• 12 September 1914.  43 miners killed, Ralph's Mine, Huntly
• 3 December 1926.  9 men killed, Dobson mine  
•  24 September 1939. 11 men killed, Glen Afton mine, Huntly  
• Strongman mine, 19 January 1967.  19 miners kiilled, Strongman mine

 

References:

1.   Evans, Adrian.  (2010, Nov 24).  Pike River joins list of mining tragedies. New Zealand Herald.  Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10689823

2.   NZ Herald Staff Writers.  (2010, Nov 24).  Pike River: 'We want our boys back' - Whittall.  New Zealand Herald.  Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10689828

3.  Booker, Jarrod, Dickison, Michael & Nordqvist, Susie. (2010, Nov 23). 'Why didn't they put gladwrap on robot?'  New Zealand Herald.  Retrieved fromhttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10689533