29 guys sadly lost their lives when there was an explosion in the coal mine they had not long started their shift in.
At the time it was extremely dangerous to go in and attempt to rescue them and sadly as the days wore on, it became apparent that it was even worse than they originally thought.
Unfortunately 5 days after the first explosion there was a 2nd explosion.
It was then deemed that New Zealand had a recovery on their hands not a rescue.
Yesterday there was yet another explosion.
They are unsure as to when the recovery attempt will start, it may sadly be many weeks before they are able to deem the mine safe enough for rescue teams to go in the mine.
At present, as is company rules, all 29 miner's tags are still hanging on the security board at the entrance of the mine, and as is rightly so, I feel these tags will stay there until the miners are safely brought to the surface.
It goes to show that the miners are still underground and that is what those tags mean during working times.
I hope that when the miners are safely recovered, someone will kindly take the tags down to show they are no longer underground.
I remember many years ago, when 2 Australian miners got trapped underground. The first thing they both did on successfully returning to the surface, was to remove their tags from the board to show their shift had ended and that they were no longer underground.
It was a poiniant moment watching them remove the tags, as it symbolised so much.
My heart goes out to all the families who have been affected by this sad disaster. I fear they will not have closure very quickly and I hope they manage to get through the many weeks ahead until closure comes to them.
1 comment:
I hadn't heard that is so sad. It seems that the earth often rebells to being dug at. I hope that there is a way that they survived. My hearts go out to those who have to wait and wonder.
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