Break-through by drill at New Zealand coal mine

New Zealand police on Wednesday confirmed the diamond-tipped drill bit had broken through into an underground roadway in the Pike River coal mine in New Zealand South Island's West Coast.

Hot air and gas rushed up a bore shaft from the Pike River Coal mine on Wednesday morning as robots captured new footage, including a miner's helmet with a light still on.

Pike River chief executive Peter Whittall said the helmet belonged to Russell Smith, one of the two men to make it out of the mine.

Whittall said air from the hole was extremely high in carbon monoxide and methane. It was low on oxygen.

Nothing has been heard from the 29 men in the mine since an explosion on Friday and police said the situation is getting bleaker by the hour.

No rescue attempt will be mounted until rescuers know the conditions inside the mine won't cause another explosion.

An army robot which broke down Tuesday in the coal mine has been reactivated and traveled one km down the mine tunnel.

Gary Knowles, who is leading the investigation, said a robot had discovered one of the miner's helmets 1,000 meters into the mine. That robot had since run out of battery.

A second New Zealand Defence Force robot was still making progress in the mine, where a massive blast trapped the miners on Friday, and had also captured footage.

A third robot had arrived from Australia and another, from the United States, was being transported by Air New Zealand.

Knowles said police were continuing plans for a rescue, but as time went on, the likelihood of this happening was "diminishing".

Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said there would be several inquiries, including one into mine safety by the Department of Labour and one by police.

Source: Xinhua