[ New Zealand Mourns 29 Lost Coal Miners - NTDTV ]
A nation in grieving comes to grips with the realisation that the 29 men trapped in the Pike River Coal Mine will never walk out alive.
Condolences have been flooding into New Zealand from overseas, expressing deep regret for the families and friends of the miners, who are believed to have died yesterday after a second explosion at 2.37 p.m .
Miners from South Africa, Australia and Britain are also among the dead.
The mine, which is located in heavily-bushed country near Greymouth on New Zealand’s West Coast, filled with poisonous gas—namely methane and carbon monoxide—holding a large specialist rescue team at bay since Friday’s initial explosion.
In a speech from the Beehive yesterday, Prime Minister John Key expressed sympathy for the miners’ families, who had spent days of waiting only to receive the “cruellest of news,” he said.
