Cascading Waterfall

There were originally 31 miners, but two were able to get out of the mine straight after the 1st explosion happened. I wish this had been the case for all of them.

Well there are high levels of carbon monoxide and methane gas down in the mine, plus it would have been very hot down there too. There will be absolutely nothing left of the bodies now.

Pike River disaster inquiry announced: BREAKING NEWS: A fifth explosion has rocked the Pike River Coal mine tonight where fire is belching from a ventilation shaft. Recovery attempts will get underway as soon as possible to retrieve the bodies of 29 men who died in the mine after an explosion on November 19. Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn said families had been shown footage of the mine burning. A jet engine had not yet been used to clear the mine as intended, but he had not been told why. The jet engine could be used tonight, but this was not definite, he said. A fire continued to burn in the mine, he said. The families were worn out and quiet, he said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Key has this afternoon announced details of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Pike River disaster. High Court judge Justice Graham Panckhurst will lead the inquiry. Mr Key has also announced that an international mining expert would be recruited by the Department of Labour to carry out an urgent audit of all underground mining in New Zealand. He said Justice Panckhurst, a sitting High Court judge, would be joined by two others with expertise in mining safety and regulation. They would be announced later. The inquiry would have a wide scope, covering the cause of the explosion, the cause of loss of life, the search and rescue operation, the systems at the mine and relevant regulatory rules in the mining industry. It would start work as soon as possible and the cost would run into millions of dollars. "Royal Commissions are reserved for matters of very significant public interest and the Pike River mine tragedy is one of those," Key said. The terms of reference were only a draft and would be finalised after the commission was appointed and met. There would be wide involvement from families and the industry and commissioners would have to spend a lot of time on the West Coast. There was a chance the commission would be delayed by other inquiries it could not conflict with. Brenda Rackley, partner of John Hale, one of the miners who perished, said friends and relatives were desperate for answers. She welcomed the inquiry, and said she could not understand how the men had died in a mine less than two years old. "I can't get it around my head that they had the best technology in the world ... I've been asking myself how this could happen." Rackley said Hale had often expressed concern about the mine's safety. She hoped the inquiry would investigate near-misses and other safety incidents in the mine's history. Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn called for transparency, truth and honesty and said the inquiry was the way to get it. "It's fantastic news. It's absolutely central that we get this. I thank John Key for doing this," he said. "People must be able to speak out - the people that want to - and [they] need to be able to do that unhindered." Kokshoorn said the main points the inquiry needed to cover was why the explosion happened and how to prevent another one in the future. The Prime Minister will travel to Greymouth with other ministers for a national memorial on Thursday. FIRE AT MINE Smoke and flames were last night billowing from the Pike River coalmine, with police admitting it is unrealistic to think the bodies of 29 miners will be recovered intact. A fourth, more violent explosion rocked the mine yesterday shortly before 2pm, sparking a huge coal fire. The blast damaged a ventilation shaft, and flames could be seen coming through it from the air "like a Bunsen burner." Some vegetation near the shaft also caught fire and had to be put out. Experts working to retrieve the bodies of the men, trapped since November 19, now have two options to get recovery teams into the mine. A jet engine device – the Gorniczy Agregat Gasniczy (GAG) – is at the site ready to deploy. But experts need to determine if it can be used after last night's fire. The mine could be temporarily sealed to starve the fire of oxygen. Inspector Mark Harrison, who is heading the recovery operation, admitted it was less likely the bodies would now be removed intact. "There's no time that could be put around this," he said. "We are gathering and assessing the information ... there's been a change in the environment within the mine and we need to know ... what that actually means." Pike River Coal Chief executive Peter Whittall said families had been asking if they could get their men home by Christmas. A second explosion on Wednesday dashed any hopes the men would be found alive. It could be some weeks before the bodies were returned, he said. "I made the point then without being too blunt, Christmas is another `X' on the page as far as what the rescue teams are working towards. They've got to look at the actual time it takes them to do their job." He added: "These last few days and the last couple of explosions have exacerbated the issue and probably pushed things out." Whittall saw the smoke and flames when he flew over the mine yesterday afternoon and could smell coal smoke. The GAG machine is his preferred option and would most likely be deployed in the evening. Sealing the mine (without using the GAG machine) would take longer, he said. Using the GAG machine could take a number of days, New South Wales Mine Rescue Service general manager Paul Healey told Radio New Zealand. The procedure would see gas or vapour pumped into the mine for at least three days before it is sealed and left to cool. The cooling of the mine could take some time, he said. It is unclear if the fire is a "rubbish" coal fire – where coal dislodged by the explosions ignited – or "the worst-case scenario" of the entire coal seam catching alight. This would see the walls of the mine start to burn, Whittall said. "That's a lot harder to dig out or a lot harder to smother." Key said yesterday that police may bring charges after investigations are complete. Whittall said this was an inevitable possibility. "I understand that ... when the investigation comes out if someone's done something wrong then there should be consequences to that. I am not confident one way or the other." Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn said the ventilation shaft was "sheared off" and blown to one side. Families were "drained." "They are subdued, they just want closure, they just want their loved ones back." Lawrie Drew, father of Zen Drew, 21, said he was concerned his son would never be returned. "Realistically we know no more than last Friday," Drew said. "All we know is they've missed quite a few opportunities to go in there and all we've got is everybody speculating." COAL MINING FUTURE 'RESTS ON INQUIRY' The future of underground coalmining in New Zealand rests on the findings of the royal commission of inquiry into the Pike River tragedy announced today, Key says. Yesterday he said there were "very hard questions to be asked and answered". "In the end, the future of Pike River and actually underground coalmining in New Zealand rests on this," Key told TVNZ's Q+A programme. "We can't put people into environments that are dangerous." The royal commission would be carried out in addition to inquiries by the coroner's office, the Labour Department and the police. There are four underground coalmines in New Zealand, involving 450 workers. Greens co-leader Russel Norman said the inquiry should report in two parts, with the second looking at broader questions about the underground mining industry as a whole. "There have been many questions raised about whether the regulatory framework is strong enough," Norman said. The first part of the inquiry should focus on the specific cause of the explosion at Pike River to help provide closure for the victims' families. "Part two would focus on the related issue of the broader safety and regulation of underground mining and could take longer to report back." Norman said the royal commission should include a workers' representative. Key said he could not speculate on the future of the Pike River mine. "What I do know is it's claimed the lives of 29 men. They should be home with their families and they're not, and I owe it to those families to make sure that they get answers to those questions, and I'm determined to do that." HIGH COURT JUDGE: Justice Graham Panckhurst. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/4399947/Pike-River-disaster-inquiry-announced

Yes it's very sad. My mother thinks all that could be left of the miners now is rags and bones. I was talking with a friend on Facebook last night and he said the heat would have speeded up the process. I think these explosions could go on for some time like the Canterbury aftershocks did.

And another one today. The rescuers couldn't get into the mine due to high gas levels and a mixture of carbon monoxide and methane. The methane was said to be lethal. There were three robots sent down the mine, but two broke down and I think the third may have done as well. Greymouth is on New Zealand's West Coast. Two miners were expectant fathers and one was getting married in a few weeks.

I would suggest to block this guy if he tries to add you again as he sounds suspicious.

Well I will be on an 8 night holiday on my own in Auckland (New Zealand's largest city) from the 10th till the 18th of November next year.

I've remembered 2 other flavours Wendy's have. They are White Chocolate Raspberry and Mint Choc Magic. Tip Top are a New Zealand Ice Cream company. They do flavours such as Crunchie, Caramello and Top Deck. Top Deck is milk and white chocolate combined.

Our local ice cream shop Wendy's Supa Sundaes has flavours such as Moccachino Fudge, Brownie Temptation, Baileys Scorched Almonds, Creme Brulee and a traditional Kiwi favourite which is Hokey Pokey. Hokey Pokey ice cream is Vanilla ice cream with toffee pieces. Also we have Kapiti Ice Cream and they make some fancy flavours too.

Orange Choc Chip Mint Choc Chip Cookies and Cream Cappuccino Fudge

Ice Cream.

True. We've had our fair share of disasters.

http://nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_cid=1&gallery_id=113733 Video footage of the Christchurch earthquake as it happened.

http://www.tvnz.co.nz/national-news/nerves-tested-aftershocks-continue-3762962/photos

I have pmed Ian to ask him to combine this topic and the one I set up. I wouldn't have started my topic if I had seen this one first.

I have found photos on the Stuff.co.nz site, but I won't be posting them as there's a lot. But I will post the link. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4095395/Earthquake-hits-the-South-Island

It's okay. Thanks for correcting it though. I'm looking at the photos of the damage caused by the quake.

Our buildings are said to be quake proof. A lot of the old buildings may have to be knocked down. I hope our useless excuse for a prime minister gets off his butt and does something to help the people of Christchurch.

Nancy I noticed New Zealand mistakenly spelt as New Zewland.

Five New Zealanders and four tourists were killed in the plane crash. The four tourists were an Australian, a German, a Brit and an Irishman. Due to the Christchurch earthquake, the bodies were flown to Auckland in the North Island.

The earthquake was felt as far as Invercargill in the South Island and Wellington in the North Island. In 1931 there was a massive earthquake at Napier in the Hawkes Bay.

7.4 was an estimate. It was later confirmed that the earthquake measured 7.1. Fire broke out at a massage parlour in Central Christchurch and it was caused when gas and power were turned back on. One of the buildings damaged in the quake.

Massive earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10671050&ref=rss This earthquake struck Christchurch yesterday and it measured 7.1 on the richter scale. There have been people injured, but thankfully there are no deaths.

I once had pizza in Germany and there was nothing wrong with it.

Dark chocolate and white chocolate.