Recent imaging from borehole drilling at Pike River mine has uncovered the possibility of more human remains.
Over the last three weeks police have drilled and imaged three more boreholes which have provided “images useful to the ongoing criminal investigation”.
Police said some of the images captured in the vicinity of borehole six indicate the possibility of human remains.
Borehole six is an area where men were known to be building a stopping (wall) when the mine first exploded in 2010, killing 29.
Police say some of the images captured in the vicinity of borehole six indicate the possibility of human remains. (Source: 1News)
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Police said two pathologists have viewed the images and aren’t able to determine “whether they definitively show human remains”.
Police have spoken to the families of the three men believed to have been working in the area.
Detective Superintendent Darryl Sweeney said police are committed to keeping the miners’ families informed with updates on a regular basis.
“We recognise this is an incredibly difficult process for the families of the 29 men killed at Pike River.
Police said today images, taken as part of a criminal investigation into the deadly explosion, most likely show clothing and items associated with a person. (Source: 1News)
“While we can’t say with any certainty that we’ve located human remains, we have shared what we’ve found as well as the pathologists’ conclusions.
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“Our thoughts are with the families as they process this news,” Sweeney said.
Work began on 10 additional boreholes in late January, 2023, following a police announcement in September last year that they were reopening the borehole drilling operation.
The final three holes will be drilled in the coming weeks, concluding the police investigation at the West Coast mine.
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