Pike families: “We need answers!”

New video shown tonight show the urgent need to recover the drift and secure evidence and remains say Pike RIver family members.

The video was taken before the second explosion and shows that there was fresh air available and expectations from rescue crew that some of the men may have survived the first explosion.

Pike River widow, Anna Osborne says the audio raises more questions than it answers. “The official government story unravels a little bit more every time we force more information out of the government or it is leaked.

“The fact that we didn’t see the footage played tonight for years after it was taken shows just how much we’ve been kept in the dark. That needs to stop.”

Pike River mother Sonya Rockhouse agrees. “There’s only one way we are going to find out what happened at Pike and that’s to get a team into the drift to make it safe for a full investigation.

“The experts say it can and should be done, the footage we forced the government to provide us backs that up. Mines rescue members here and internationally have said they would proud to do it. Why won’t the government just let it happen?”

Bernie Monk, who lost his son, Michael, in the mine says families won’t stop until they get truth and justice. “This is a crime scene that has never been properly investigated. It feels like the government is afraid of finding answers down there. But that’s not good enough, we deserve the truth, every New Zealander deserves the truth.”