Invercargill sister of Pike River mine victim pleased re-entry has begun

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

Southland man Keith Valli was one of 29 who died in the Pike River mine disaster on November 19, 2010.

A sister of Pike River mine victim Keith Valli says her family is pleased re-entry into the mine is under way 46 kilometres from Greymouth .

Genevieve Harvey, of Invercargill, said the re-entry on Tuesday was a big step forward for families who lost loved ones in the coal mine disaster on November 19, 2010. Twenty nine men died.

'At long last … it's what we wanted,' Harvey said.

She is delighted for Anna Osborne, Sonya Rockhouse and others who lobbied politicians and police vigorously for the re-entry to happen to allow investigations to continue into the mine exploding. Families also want to know any personal details of their loved ones in the mine.

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Osborne, who lost her husband Milton, and Rockhouse, who had a son, Ben, die and another son, Daniel, survive the explosion, have represented affected families at media conferences.

'They've worked so hard, fought so long to get to this [stage],' Harvey said.

The crew is being led by Pike River Recovery Agency chief operating officer Dinghy Pattinson, who was part of the team that in 2011 left a note on the seal 170m up the mine access tunnel, promising the men they would return to get them out. The fifth-generation West Coast miner has been a NZ Mines Rescue Service member for more than 30 years.

Pattinson said the event on Tuesday went as planned. The team found the drift in 'really good condition'.

'It's as it was left when Solid Energy sealed it in 2016. We could see the 170m wall with the open door in it up ahead of us,' he said.

'Today was for the families. It's taken eight years and it's the start of a journey. The real work starts now.'

Harvey and Valli's partner, Bev Paterson, of Oamaru, were on the West Coast for the first re-entry attempt on May 3. However, the day before, atmospheric conditions change and the attempt was postponed.

Neither were able to return for Tuesday's successful second attempt.

During their visit in early May, Harvey, Paterson and the other families were given details about the re-entry procedure, the preparatory work completed and other information by numerous speakers, including prime minister Jacinda Arden and justice minister Andrew Little.

'We were grateful for that and came away with a really good feeling,' Harvey said.