The grieving parents of a Fife man, killed in a mining disaster in New Zealand, fear their 10-year campaign for justice could be wasted if a move to seal off the mineshaft off for good goes ahead as planned.
Malcolm and Jane Campbell from St Andrews in Fife have just two weeks to convince the New Zealand authorities to keep the Pike River mine open, after government officials said it was set to seal the mineshaft off for good.
Their son, Malcolm, 25, along with Pete Rodger, 40, of Perth, were among 29 workers who perished in explosions in the South Island mine in November 2010.
Tireless campaign
The families of the men, who have waged a tireless campaign for justice, were given hope in 2017 of recovering their loved ones and confirming the cause of the tragedy when the new government declared it would investigate the disaster.
However, over four years on and with and estimated $50m already spend on a number of exploratory investigations almost three kilometres underground, the government intends to cut any further funding and close off the site permanently.
For Malcolm and Jane it would mean the end of any lingering hope of getting the justice they so desperately crave for their son.
“We have just two weeks to convince the New Zealand authorities to postpone its plans to shut the mine off for good,” said Malcolm senior.
“So much work has gone into this by the experts who say they are just 15 to 20 metres away from the ventilator fan where the explosion originated from.
‘So close to justice’
“It’s heartbreaking to have committed so much to the families cause and for us to be so close to the possibility of justice for our son and the other 28 men to have it taken away.”
The previous mine operators, Pike River Coal were found guilty in 2013 on nine charges of breaching safety standards and were ordered to pay £60,000 to each of the victims’ families and fined £430,000.
However, the fine was never paid and families only received £2,850.
Safety risk
Speaking on New Zealand’s AM Show last week, government minster, Andrew Little, said that committing to go further into the mine would cost millions and pose health and safety risks.
“The cost to go further, which is what some families want, because of the health and safety issues would be millions and millions of dollars more and I just don’t have that money and cabinet is not going to approve that money,” said Mr Little.
However, Mr Campbell has challenged that assumption.
He said: “The government has estimated it may need a further $50m and is not prepared to commit but our experts leading the investigation underground have told us the true cost would be nearer $8m.”
The family now have just days to convince the authorities to postpone its plans and allow the experts to carry one, at least for the time being.
“We always said if it was no longer possible or too dangerous to carry on we would accept that but an independent technical advisory group has assessed the blockage only a month ago and now found it to a coal fall not rock fall and they are confident of getting through it,” said Malcom.
‘Travesty to throw it away’
“We are so within touching distance of the evidence we need to finally achieve justice for all of those men, including Malcolm and it’s be a travesty to throw that away.
Malcolm said a newly costed plan to continue has this week been presented to government officials, which is hoped will give the families a reprieve.
“We now have an agonising wait to see if we are allowed to continue and we desperately hope the authorities will see favour in the efforts to continue,” he said.