- Author:
- Published: 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM
November 19th, 2010 3:44pm
An explosion in a mine damaged a gas pipe that was responsible for removing dangerous gases resulting in a buildup of methane gas in the mine. 29 miners were trapped in the mine at this time and were awaiting rescue when safe.
November 24th, 2010 2:37pm
A 2nd explosion took place in the mine. The 29 miners were pronounced dead after that explosion.
After the first two explosions, two more explosions occurred (total of 4) which made recovering the 29 bodies impossible due to the high gas levels and instability of the mine.
As a consequence of this disaster, Pike River Coal Limited was convicted of 9 charges of breaching Health and Safety Act and was ordered to pay $110,000 to the family of each victim, as well as fined $760,000. No one could be prosecuted for the disaster because the exact cause of the incident has yet to be determined.
What if they had Field eagle?
The cause of the incident was safety procedures were often breached. The health and safety standards are not heavily regulated in New Zealand. After the disaster, New Zealand’s PM released this statement,
“I want to reiterate my apology to the families, friends and loved ones of the deceased men for the role this lack of regulatory effectiveness played in the tragedy” –John Kelly, Dec 2012
With a field inspection software like Field Eagle, mining companies and New Zealand would benefit from having a standard system to regulate health and safety procedures and having compliance standards set to ensure disasters like this are not repeated.
Do you think proper inspections and regulations on health and safety would have been enough to prevent this disaster? Join the conversation on twitter @fieldeagle #FEPrevent.
If you want to prevent future accidents with Field Eagle, contact us for a free demo at info@fieldeagle.com.
References:
http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/pike-river/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/24/us-newzealand-mine-idUSTRE6AM75O20101124
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/pike-river-recovering-bodies-paramount-2010112322#axzz3PaMO4JY7
