Photo: RNZ A public statement last week, issued by the Pike River Family Reference Group, said families had reluctantly accepted a government decision to close the recovery project. A number of families said they were blindsided by that. The Pike River Family Committee, which is separate to the reference group, met last night and say three-quarters of the families want to self-fund a feasibility study into recovering the mine's main ventilation fan. But the level of support for the study is also in dispute. Last week's statement by the Pike River Family Reference Group - which is the official group working with the government's mine recovery agency - sparked uproar among some relatives of the 29 dead miners.