Pike families blockade mine road

Families of the men killed at Pike River are blockading the road to the mine ahead of plans to seal it for good.

Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton was one of the Pike River 29, says the blockade is their last option. “If they want to seal our boys in that mine they’ll have to run us down to do it.

“The first couple of kilometres of mine is safe to enter. Both the former head of Worksafe’s mine inspectors and the three international experts we’ve consulted have agreed on that.

“The bodies of our boys – my husband, Sonya’s son – could be in that safe stretch of mine. There could be evidence showing what happened in there, which we still don’t have clear answers on. Why would you lock that off with hundreds of tonnes of concrete?”

The family members and their supporters have set up a caravan and camp on the road to block any vehicles attempting to enter the mine site.

“John Key told us he’d get our boys out,” says Anna. “Now the company his government owns is planning to seal the mine and seal our hope off with it.

“It’s wrong and we’re not going to let it happen.”

The sixth anniversary of the Pike River Mine disaster will be marked in one week’s time on Saturday 19 November.