New Zealand Mine Firm Ignored 21 Gas Warnings

A coal mining company ignored 21 warnings that methane gas had accumulated to explosive levels before a blast that killed 29 workers in New Zealand in 2010, an investigation has found.

The official report released today after 11 weeks of hearings on the disaster found broad safety problems and said Pike River Coal company exposed miners to unacceptable risks to meet financial targets.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said: "The company completely and utterly failed to protect its workers."

Twenty-nine workers were around 5,000ft from the mine entrance when the explosion took place. Further blasts occurred and the men were presumed to have been killed.

Labour minister Kate Wilkinson resigned from her post after the report was released, saying she felt it was the honourable thing to do.

The Royal Commission report said New Zealand has a poor workplace safety record and regulators failed to provide adequate oversight before the explosion.

At the time of the disaster, there were only two mine inspectors who were unable to keep up with their workload, it said.

Pike River Coal was able to obtain a permit with no scrutiny of its health and safety plans.

The commission's report recommended a new agency should be set up to focus on workplace health and safety problems.

In the seven weeks before the explosion, Pike River Coal received 21 warnings from mine workers that methane gas had built up to explosive levels below ground and another 27 warnings of dangerous levels.

Some workers even rigged their equipment to bypass the methane sensors after they kept automatically shutting down - which they were designed to do when methane levels got too high.

The report found the company made a "major error" by putting a ventilation fan underground instead of on the surface. It was also using water jets to cut the coal face - a technique which can release large amounts of methane.

It is not clear what sparked the explosion, although the report said a pump was switched on immediately before the blast.

The now-bankrupt Pike River Coal company is not defending itself against charges it committed nine labour violations.

Former chief executive Peter Whittall has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges.