Posted in | News | Military Robotics | Automation Electronics

Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster

By Andy ChoiNov 22 2010

At the Pike River coal mine, north east of Greymouth 29 miners are trapped and at least two of them are said to be Australians. The men have been trapped since an underground explosion occurred over the weekend. Rescue efforts are being hampered by a possibility of poisonous gases in the mine.

Relatives of the trapped miners spent all of last night at the coal pit hoping to get some news. However the rescuers have yet to try and enter the mine to begin the search and rescue operation due to the fear of these toxic gases.

At this point it is still unclear as to what caused the gas explosion yesterday. There has been no contact with the miners since the explosion. The slow reaction of the rescuers is being criticized by relatives.

The preparation to meet such an emergency as a nation is also being questioned. The New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said that these were very testing times and the families were feeling high levels of fear, anxiety and frustration.

The Defence Force of New Zealand has provided the rescue operators with a robot which is being modified to enter the mine. The toxic and inflammable gases such as methane are making it difficult for human rescuers to enter the mine. The robot will be able to see if the main shaft of the mine was blocked in the explosion.

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Choi, Andy. (2019, February 21). Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster. AZoRobotics. Retrieved on August 20, 2025 from https://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=437.
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Choi, Andy. "Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster". AZoRobotics. 20 August 2025. <https://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=437>.
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Choi, Andy. 2019. Robot Prepped to Enter NZ Mine Disaster. AZoRobotics, viewed 20 August 2025, https://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=437.

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