Third blast at New Zealand mine where 29 died
Pike River Coal chairman John Dow said today's blast happened almost exactly a week to the minute after the first explosion that led to one of the country's worst mining disasters.
Twenty-nine workers, including two Britons, were caught in last week's explosion and officials said there was no way they could have survived a second blast on Wednesday.
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Hide AdHigh levels of potentially explosive methane gas blamed for all the explosions has kept recovery teams from entering the mine to recover the workers' bodies.
Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire, and Malcolm Campbell, 25, from St Andrews, Fife, were among the missing miners.