Smoke, gas blocked way out for four miners

Press, 20 September 1985, Page 1

Smoke, gas blocked way out for four miners

Staff reporters

Smoke and deadly carbon monoxide gas blocked the two escape routes for four men who died in the Boatmans mine fire on Wednesday.

The Inspector of Mines for Greymouth and Westport, Mr Bill Brazil, said there was a build-up of smoke and gas at the opening and return end of the mine where air is pumped out.

“There was smoke at both ends,” said Mr Brazil.

The ventilation fan which could have removed the smoke and gas was not working when rescuers arrived on the scene. “We believe the ventilation system was not working when the fire broke out,” said Mr Brazil. The Chief Inspector of Mines, Mr Bob Offord, of Wellington, said last evening that a power surge

might have caused the fan to stop.

The fan had to be restarted before rescue teams could enter the mine to recover the bodies of the four men. Mr Brazil said that rescuers wearing breathing apparatus discovered a heavy build-up of carbon monoxide near the bodies. It is thought that the four miners died of carbon monoxide poisoning although post-mortem examination results were not available last evening. Rescuers made three attempts to recover the bodies before succeeding but they were not in danger at any time, Mr Brazil said.

“We assessed the situation well before going into the mine,” he said. While the cause of the fire was not definitely known yesterday, Mr Brazil said spontaneous combustion could have started the blaze. It was possible gas ignited when the miners broke through into an abandoned mine shaft when they were working the face of the main mine, he said.

Mr Brazil ruled out the possibility of an explosion’s causing the fire. A Reefton man who worked in the mine five months ago said that safety precautions were strictly adhered to and there had been no problems in the past.

A routine check of the mine by Mines Department staff on September 2 had not shown any problems. Mine rescue personnel and other miners were at the Boatmans mine yesterday using a digger and a bulldozer to seal vents leading from the shaft.

Carbon monoxide was leaking from the mine yesterday. The secretary of the Inangahua Miners’ Union, Mr Mark Etheredge, missed the shift on Wednesday at the mine because of illness. Yesterday, shocked by the loss of his workmates in the small mine, he was organising an appeal on behalf of the union.

“When we look at the wives and children who are left behind we realise that there are things we cannot afford to lose, such as fathers,” he said.