Second Blast Hits NZ Mine, All Miners Believed Dead

'We are now going into recovery mode'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 23, 2010 10:16 PM CST
Second Blast Hits NZ Mine, All Miners Believed Dead
Joseph Ray Dunbar, 17, is the youngest of 29 miners missing and presumed dead in the Pike River Coal mine near Greymouth, New Zealand.   (AP Photo/New Zealand Police)

A second huge blast has hit the New Zealand coal mine where 29 miners are missing and authorities say it would have been impossible for anybody to survive. "We are now going into recovery mode," a police superintendent said. High levels of toxic gases thwarted rescue attempts after a blast at the mine last week and even before the second explosion, authorities had warned that it may never be safe for rescue workers to enter the mine, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
(More New Zealand stories.)

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