The parents of a Scots miner killed when explosions ripped through a mine have spoken of their anger after a drilling company admitted health and safety failings.
Malcolm Campbell, 25, was killed along with 28 other men at the Pike River mine disaster in New Zealand in 2010 and mining contractor VLI Drilling have now admitted that it failed to keep its workers safe.
The company face a maximum fine of £386,000 and the news is another blow to the families who were only informed in recent months that the bodies of their loved ones would never be recovered for a proper burial.
A distressed Malcolm Campbell Snr, of St Andrews, said on Wednesday: "The only comment we have is the sheer frustration of admissions of serious fault that keep coming out. One of the things we would dearly like to do is speak face to face with some of the men involved in the management of Pike River when we go out in November. This would, no doubt, never happen."
The men, including Perth man Pete Rodger, 40, died after a series of methane-fuelled explosions ripped through the mine.
At a government inquiry into the disaster, experts said that the mine did not have adequate ventilation and operators were cutting corners due to financial pressure.
VLI Drilling employed three of the men who died and the New Zealand Labour Department said in a statement that it was not known if VLI's drilling rig was running at the time of the first explosion but revealed that the rigs methane detector was faulty and had not been inspected.
Meanwhile Pike River Coal Ltd, who employed the rest of the men and are now bankrupt, said they would not contest nine pending criminal charges against them. They face a hearing in October to determine their culpability.
Pike River's former chief executive, Peter Whitall, also faces 12 criminal charges which he has vowed to fight.
Last month the families of Malcolm Campbell and Pete Rodgers spoke of their devastation after authorities said it would be too dangerous to remove their bodies.
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