NZ mine victims 'all died within minutes of blast' blast

ALL the men killed in the New Zealand coal mine disaster died within minutes of an initial explosion, an inquest has heard.

The fate of the 29 trapped men - including two Scots - had been uncertain in the days after the 19 November, methane-fuelled blast, as the build-up of toxic and potentially explosive gases prevented rescuers entering the mine outside Greymouth.

The miners were all declared dead only five days later, after a second massive blast that officials said would have killed anyone underground. The victims included Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire and Malcolm Campbell, 25, from St Andrews in Fife.

At the opening of the inquest, Police Superintendent Gary Knowles said a group of experts had gone to the mine five days after the first blast to establish whether any of the miners could have survived. But it had been ascertained their chances of having survived were "nil".

Coroner Neil MacLean said evidence showed the miners would have died in the moments after the blast from asphyxiation, carbon monoxide poisoning, burns from temperatures of up to 2,000C and trauma from blast waves and flying debris.

The experts found gases in the mine after the blast would have been similar to cyanide and caused death within five minutes.