GREYMOUTH // The 29 workers trapped after a coal-mine disaster in New Zealand could have survived by sealing themselves off from toxic gases, experts said today, but they warned that rescuers must hurry to get them out.
New Zealand's prime minister, John Key, said there was "every chance" the men could be alive, having been trapped in the Pike River coal mine since Friday, but as families waited anxiously the mood at the site was grim.
Queensland University's David Cliff, who has worked in mine safety for almost 20 years, said the men could be sitting in an air pocket but it would be a race against time to bring them to the surface.
"The general rule with a coal mine is the faster the better," he told AFP, warning about the build-up of poisonous gases. "You have got to get out of there in a hurry."
Efforts to reach the miners have been thwarted by high levels of methane and carbon monoxide, and fears of a second blast, preventing frustrated rescuers from entering the shaft.
Mr Cliff said: "If they were in a refuge of some sort, if they have a supply of air, they might last a long time - we should not give up on that sort of hope.
"If they have been lucky and they are in the area of the mine which is relatively unaffected by the explosion, then they could have barricaded themselves in."
This would involve putting a cloth or other material up to isolate the area from the harmful gases. Another possibility was that the men had grouped at an outlet for the compressed air pipes which run through the mine.
But Mr Cliff said in stark contrast to the miraculous recovery of 33 miners trapped for almost 10 weeks in a mine in Chile, there is no guarantee than those at Pike River have access to breathable air, since the mine's ventilation system had stopped and methane was seeping out of the coal.
The mine, dug into a hillside, is accessed by a horizontal, 2.5-kilometre tunnel, while a large ventilation shaft brings fresh air from the surface about 150 metres above.
Pike River's chief executive, Peter Whittall, would not speculate on what conditions the men could be surviving in, but said air would be the priority.
"It would certainly be quite hot and stuffy because there's not a lot of ventilation down there," he told reporters.
Each man would have been carrying a breathing device which could generate oxygen for 20 to 60 minutes, and there were some of these stored underground.
But Daniel Rockhouse, 24, who survived the blast and stumbled to the surface in an agonising two-hour trek, has told of dragging an unconscious fellow miner to a "fresh air station" only to find it was flooded with poison gas because its door had been left open, while its only phone was not working.
"I said, 'you've got to be bloody kidding me!' I screamed and kicked the wooden seats," Mr Rockhouse said, He revived the man with compressed air and then helped him out of the smoke-filled mine shaft.
A Wellington-based mining consultant, Dave Feickert, said it was obvious the two survivors were extremely lucky. He said people needed to remain hopeful but warned that "the history of these things is usually pretty grim".
Ron Land, chairman of Coal Services Australia, which has sent 10 technical experts to Pike River to help the rescue, agreed hopes were fading.
"The length of time now, it's 72 hours since the incident, you are always hopeful but with the passing of each hour the chances of survivors is lessening," he told AFP.
But Professor Bruce Hebblewhite, head of engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, said there were too many unknowns to dismiss their survival chances.
He said a major concern was whether a coal fire was still burning underground, creating poisonous fumes and risking setting off another blast.
One option could be waiting for the fire to burn itself out, he said.
"It could be a long time - you can't put a handle on it. It could be a major ongoing problem," Professor Hebblewhite said.
Mr Cliff said in the past, mine blasts have been followed by another explosion, for example at Australia's Moura No 2 coal mine in 1994, when a secondary blast sealed the fate of 11 trapped miners.
"There was an explosion on the Sunday night, and then 36 hours later just before rescue teams were getting ready to go in, there was a second explosion," he said.
AFP
Schedule:
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
