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The latest offer to investigate deeper at the Pike River mine has suffered a setback after it was discovered that the pipes used to guide the cameras were too damaged.
The police operation, which was effectively the first unmanned re-entry into mine operations, involved the deployment of remotely operated cameras on three pipelines leading from the west coast mine access tunnel, or drift, to the mine.
Cameras were to be sent along three pipes at the Pike River Mine to look deep into the area where 29 men were killed.
New Zealand Police
A camera to be placed on three 300mm tubes at Pike River.
READ MORE:
* Pike River reentry will be completed in six months, agency chief says
* Pike River mine workers reach the seal at the top of the mine drift
* A new well at the Pike River Mine could investigate the cause of the explosion
However, police confirmed late Friday that while the camera was successfully deployed on each pipe, they were unable to penetrate beyond the rockslide due to the extent of damage to each pipe.
Police said they would not release any images of the camera deployment as work was still in progress.
Police are still investigating any criminal culpability for the 2010 disaster with the help of a $ 50 million government-funded reentry drifting from the mine by the Pike River Recovery Agency.
Supplied
Map of the Pike River Mine from the Royal Commission showing the area around the thin shaft that was filled with concrete in 2011.
The objective is to find evidence for a criminal process and discover the cause of the explosion that killed 29 men.
The operation of the mine was blocked by the collapse of a roof 2.3 kilometers down the slope. The area was being pumped with nitrogen for reclamation work.
