Bodies of Scots men killed in New Zealand mine disaster 'never recovered'

The families of two men killed in the River Pike mining disaster in New Zealand have had to abandon their efforts to recover their bodies.

St Andrews man Malcolm Campbell, 25, and his colleague Pete Rodger, 40, from Perth, died when an explosion ripped through the mine in November 2010.

It has been reported the decision not to pursue the recovery of the bodies was taken due to it being too dangerous and posing a risk to the safety of the rescuers.

The Pike River coal mine, in Atarau on the country's South Island, was rocked by an explosion on November 19, 2010, which trapped 29 men.

A second major explosion five days later dashed hopes that any of the workers had survived.

None of the bodies of the men killed in the explosion have been recovered from the mine.

Mr Campbell’s parents Malcolm (Snr) and Jane Campbell have always wanted to recover their son’s body so they could finally lay him to rest. They had spoken out about their reservations about the health and safety regime at the mine.

Mr Campbell said: "It's going to be too dangerous and we don't want anybody else to be hurt. We just want to have closure. We want to go back to New Zealand to say goodbye."

An investigation into the disaster was launched which resulted in the New Zealand government filing criminal charges.

Related articles

People who read this story also read