KAIMAI RESCUE Pipe Through Face May Reach Men Today

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32233, 27 February 1970, Page 1

KAIMAI RESCUE Pipe Through Face May Reach Men Today

f.vew Zealand Press Association)

KAIMAI PORTAL, Feb. 26.

It was •’not beyond the realms of possibility” that the seven men trapped in the Kaimai tunnel would be freed by tomorrow morning, said the rescue director, Mr R. E. Hermans, who is the Commissioner of Works in Hamilton. He said that the sudden speed-up in the rescue work came when rescue workers started to push a 30in steel pipe through the face of the fall.

Direct contact with the men may be made about 8 a.m. tomorrow. Two rescue shafts are being driven vertically from the slopes of the Kaimai range to the men’s sanctuary, and another diagonally from the tunnel entrance through the fall itself after a slip at the top of the fall was discovered earlier today.

“If at any stage the main pipe gets stuck we have another that can be slid into it and the bore continued,” Mr Hermans said.'

The morale of the men < is reported to be high.]’ 'Their spirits were forti-l, fled by a steak and eggs < breakfast this morning, jj Last night the massive draglines clawing out the fallen J rock and earth from the first;j fall suddenly opened a hole.; in the cliff face which con-: ■ firmed there had been another collapse beyond the one near the tunnel entrance. This meant there was a gap . between the slip blocking the tunnel where the men were 1 trapped and the first slip near * the tunnel mouth Ideas of tunnelling . in to . the men were immediately abandoned, and as it was too dangerous to have men work-: ing in the area until the 1 conditions could be assessed the work was stopped until this morning Today they managed to push a small pipe down through the uncovered hole * and touched timber at the top of the tunnel 36 feet away. Feeler Rod It was then decided to force a 30in diameter pipe through the hole to the tunnel. “This has every possibility of getting them out earlier than by drilling." a Ministry: of Works spokesman said. A second feeler rod pushed through this morning was id seen by the men and work i began to insert the pipe. : Men wearing safety ropes | worked on the steep slopes ■: to widen the hole uncovered 1 by the drag-lines and set up f a staircase of ladders from 1 the cliff top to the hole ; Shortly before midday the s heavy pipe was swung out over the slope by a large i crane and slowly lowered i

down. Inch by inch it was worked into the gap. With a second section welded to it the pipe will; eventually stretch from the; tunnel where the men are trapped to the surface. j While work on the diagonal I pipe went ahead, the two! I large vertical drills above the ! tunnel continued boring their! .two-foot wide holes into the; ground. •Eyes And Ears* Mr Hermans said that asfar as they were able, the men were helping in their! own rescue. “They are our eyes and ears: r********^**^r^r*<*^***«<*

down there, guiding our move-; ments. Except for that they; are relaxing.’ Late in the afternoon anxious eyes were turned to the sky as dark rain clouds' filled the western horizon However, the clouds moved away, bringing only a light sprinkling of rain. Heavy falls could prove a major set-back to the rescue assault.

"We don’t want rain, said Mr Hermans. “I’m afraid the l farmers will get little symI pathy from me. “We don’t want material I getting sloppy as we would have to take precautions to prevent surface water gathering.’’ Playing Cards Mr Hermans said early today: “We are doing everyI thing we can to make them as ' comfortable as possible.” The men have a pack of ! playing cards and they can | hear piped music through the 'six-inch “lifeline” punched through from the surface yes[terday afternoon. Medical supplies for the two injured men, including morphine. have been passed to the survivors with instructions from doctors called to . the tunnel. The injured miners are the 59-year-old tunnel overseer, Mr H. A. Neely, of Cambridge, who has a fractured thigh, and a 27-year-old Irishman. Wil--1 liam Gilheaney, whose leg is broken in three places. Both have already been splinted up by their workmates and are resting on inflatable rubber mattresses. The survivors have also been given food, clean cloth- ! ing, hot . water bottles, blankets and cigarettes. Further Names The fifth uninjured survij vor has been identified as Patrick James Kelly, of Mohill, Ireland. James Smart, of Fife, Scoti land, is the only miner now i unaccounted for. Meanwhile, relatives and friends of the men visited , the site again today. ,1 Blinking tears, and bolding ion to their children, wives ’ were led slowly to the communications cable to speak ■to their husbands. Inquiry Ordered The Minister of Mines (Mr

li Shelton) today announced >| that an inquiry would be held •; into the cause of the disaster. The Minister said that i 1

the scope and order of the ' inquiry had not been decided. ’ He said that the chief [ mining engineer from his I department, Mr L. S. Jones, had gone to the tunnel and ! would be reporting back to ’ him. . New Zealand’s last mine disaster was in January, 1967, when 19 miners lost their lives at the Strongman Mine at Greymouth in a coal-dust r 1 explosion.

RESCUERS are shown In the top photograph forcing a 30in-diameter pipe through the face of the slip to the cavern in which the Kaimai tunnellers are trapped. The other photograph shows one of the two drills which are boring 2ft holes vertically through the hillside to the cavern.