Gas delays search for 27 trapped New Zealand miners

RESCUE crews waited impatiently outside one of New Zealand’s largest coal mines last night for the all-clear to begin a search for 27 men missing after a powerful gas explosion struck deep underground.

Five dazed and slightly injured miners stumbled to the surface hours after the blast shot up the 360-foot (110-meter) ventilation shaft. Video from the scene showed blackened and singed trees and light smoke billowing from the top of the rugged mountain where the mine is located, near Atarau on New Zealand’s South Island.

Fears that pockets of methane gas remained and could ignite held up the rescue attempt, and it could be days before it is safe enough for specialist teams to enter the mine, said Tony Kokshoorn, mayor of nearby Greymouth.