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Andrew Little, Minister for Pike River re-entry, has repeated false statements that it is too dangerous to re-enter the mine workings to discover the precise cause of the 2010 explosion that killed 29 workers.
Former deputy PM says New Zealand government is covering up mine disaster
The Labour Party-led government’s Pike River Recovery Agency (PRRA) is continuing work on sealing the Pike River coal mine where 29 people were killed in the November 2010 disaster. The aim is to prevent the examination of crucial evidence about what sparked a series of explosions.
For more than a decade the political establishment has protected those responsible for the disaster, including former managers, chief executives and directors of Pike River Coal. A 2012 royal commission of inquiry established that the company endangered its workers’ lives in order to save money. The mine had grossly inadequate ventilation and methane gas monitoring, an extremely dangerous underground fan, and no emergency exit as required by law. No one has ever been held accountable for turning the mine into a death trap.
“The families deserve much better” Readers demand continued investigation of Pike River mine disaster
2 August 2021
The World Socialist Web Site
is publishing more statements from readers in New Zealand and Australia, calling for a full investigation into the 2010 Pike River mine disaster, which killed 29 people.
The majority of the victims’ families are seeking to stop the Labour Party-led government’s plan to permanently seal the mine. Work has already
on installing the first of two seals in the drift (the mine’s entry tunnel). This would prevent the forensic examination of evidence that could be used to prosecute those responsible for the disaster.