Scot trapped in New Zealand mine blast

• Trapped Scot Pete Roger

Pete Roger, who moved to the country two years ago, is thought to be one of 29 men missing underground after an explosion at Atarau, on the South Island.

Mr Roger, 40, from Perth, used to work on oil rigs off Scotland but had an accident, hurt his legs and had to leave the industry.

The former Perth Grammar School pupil, who started working at the mine as a mechanic in April this year, has been trapped in the mine before. Around three months ago he was reportedly trapped for eight hours.

Rescue crews waited impatiently outside the mine last night for the all-clear to begin a search for the men.

Five dazed and slightly injured miners stumbled to the surface hours after the blast shot up the 360ft ventilation shaft at about 3:45pm (2:45am GMT). Video from the scene showed blackened and singed trees and light smoke billowing from the top of the rugged mountain.

Tony Kokshoorn, mayor of nearby Greymouth, said the rescue attempt had been held up by fears that pockets of methane gas remained and could ignite, and it could be days before it was safe enough for specialist teams to enter the mine.

Electricity went out shortly before the explosion and that failure may have caused ventilation problems and contributed to gas build-up. The loss of power complicated efforts to pump fresh air into the mine and make it safe for rescuers.

Police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn said: "They're itching to get in there and start looking for other people and a bit frustrated at having to stand and wait.

"There is concern that ventilation inside the mine shaft may be compromised by the power outage."

Teams were preparing for a rescue bid today, but it remained unclear when the operation would begin.

While the condition of the missing miners was unknown, the prospect that they could be alive but trapped recalled the dramatic saga of 33 Chilean mine workers who spent 69 days half a mile deep in a collapsed gold and copper mine. Their rescue last month played out on live television that captivated the world.

Mr Kokshoorn said: "We are holding on to hope. Look at Chile, all those miners were trapped and they all came out alive."

John Dow, chairman of mine operator Pike River Coal, said each miner carried 30 minutes of oxygen - enough to reach oxygen stores in the mine that he said would allow them to survive for "several days".

The coal seam at the mine is reached through a 1.4-mile horizontal tunnel that bores into the mountain toward the seam, which lies about 650ft beneath the surface. According to the company's website, the vertical ventilation shaft rises 354ft from the tunnel to the surface.

Mr Kokshoorn said it was unclear at what depth the explosion happened but the blast was very large.

Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall said 27 people were missing - 15 miners employed by the company and 12 local contractors. It later emerged that the total was 29.

Mr Whittall said five workers had walked out of the mine two to three hours after the blast, a pair that included the machine operator who was blown off his vehicle one mile into the access tunnel and three others who came out later.

One of the men had been able to make a call on his mobile phone before reaching the surface, he said.

New Zealand prime minister John Key said the situation at the mine had the potential to be very serious.

"The government has told the company it will provide any support that is required," he said. "It is an Australian company that owns the mine and the Australian government has also contacted us offering their support and assistance."

Pike River Coal is New Zealand registered, but its majority owners are Australian. There are also Indian shareholders.

The mine is not far from the site of one of New Zealand's worst mining disasters, an underground explosion in the state-owned Strongman Mine in 1967 that killed 19 workers.

It has been operating since 2008, mining a seam with 58.5 million tons of coal, the largest known deposit of hard coking coal in New Zealand.

Echo of Chile

ALTHOUGH the plight of the New Zealand pit workers will revive memories of the dramatic rescue of the 33 Chilean miners after 69 days last month, pictured below, the circumstances are dramatically different.

The Chilean miners were trapped at the foot of a 624-metre shaft when the roof of the copper and gold mine in San Jose collapsed.

However, in New Zealand, the miners could be stuck as far as two kilometres along a 2.3 km long tunnel under the mountains. which branches out into several sub areas.

The 5.5m-wide, 4.5m-high shaft slopes uphill near the top of the Paparoa Ranges, and bisects the Hawera fault, through which a large quantity of methane gas is known to leak.

The coal seam is about 200 metres underground and just one vertical ventilation shaft rises around 110 metres from tunnel to surface