New Zealand

Robots in the Pike River Mine - a timeline

15:02 pm on 1 May 2017

A number of robots have been sent into Pike River Mine since the explosions that killed 29 men in 2010, but the results of their efforts are mixed.

An access portal to the Pike River Mine on 30 November 2010. Photo: AFP

Newly-released footage showing two men and a robot apparently inside the drift of the mine, three months after the final explosion, has led to calls for all such information to be released.

2010

2011

2012

2017

  • 30 April - Police say they are considering a request to release all the video footage they have, including video taken by a robot used in the recovery efforts at the mine.
  • Video footage emerges of two men and a robot apparently inside the drift of the mine, prompting questions as to whether it is actually too unsafe to enter it.
  • 1 May - The government faces growing calls to release all the information it has on Pike River Mine.
  • Hundreds of gigabytes of information about the disaster are yet to be released, the mother of one of the miners said, based on an Official Information Act response.

See also RNZ's timeline of the events of the 2010 disaster.