Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster
At the Pike River coal mine, north east of Greymouth 29 miners are trapped and at least two of them are said to be Australians. The men have been trapped since an underground explosion occurred over the weekend. Rescue efforts are being hampered by a possibility of poisonous gases in the mine.
Relatives of the trapped miners spent all of last night at the coal pit hoping to get some news. However the rescuers have yet to try and enter the mine to begin the search and rescue operation due to the fear of these toxic gases.
At this point it is still unclear as to what caused the gas explosion yesterday. There has been no contact with the miners since the explosion. The slow reaction of the rescuers is being criticized by relatives.
The preparation to meet such an emergency as a nation is also being questioned. The New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said that these were very testing times and the families were feeling high levels of fear, anxiety and frustration.
The Defence Force of New Zealand has provided the rescue operators with a robot which is being modified to enter the mine. The toxic and inflammable gases such as methane are making it difficult for human rescuers to enter the mine. The robot will be able to see if the main shaft of the mine was blocked in the explosion.
Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:
APA
Choi, Andy. (2019, February 21). Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster. AZoRobotics. Retrieved on September 18, 2025 from https://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=437.
MLA
Choi, Andy. "Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster". AZoRobotics. 18 September 2025. <https://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=437>.
Chicago
Choi, Andy. "Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster". AZoRobotics. https://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=437. (accessed September 18, 2025).
Harvard
Choi, Andy. 2019. Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster. AZoRobotics, viewed 18 September 2025, https://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=437.
We're committed to providing free access to quality science. By registering and providing insight into
your preferences you're joining a community of over 1m science interested individuals and help us to
provide you with insightful content whilst keeping our service free.
or
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.