8 Apr 2021

Pike families accuse Little of breaking mine re-entry promise

From Checkpoint, 5:45 pm on 8 April 2021

Pike River families have accused the minister in charge of breaking his promise, and have urged him to reconsider going further into the mine.

A public statement last week, issued by the Pike River Family Reference Group, said families had reluctantly accepted a government decision to close the recovery project.

A number of families said they were blindsided - and did not agree with that.

Other families met last night and say the majority want to self-fund a feasibility study into recovering the mine's main ventilation fan.

But the level of support for the study is also in dispute.

Our reporter Anan Zaki has more.