29 presumed dead after second explosion at New Zealand mine
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
Gary Knowles, head of the search and rescue operation at the New Zealand Pike River Mine, told media a second explosion has occurred inside the mine. He stated there is no possibility any of the 29 men still inside could have survived.
| Unfortunately I have to inform the public of New Zealand that at 2.37pm today there was another massive explosion underground and based on that explosion no one survived. | ||
The situation began on Friday, around 3:45pm local time, with an explosion at the mine which is about halfway between the West Coast towns of Greymouth and Reefton. Emergency services began responding at 4.53pm; two miners managed to walk out and were treated for minor injuries at Grey Base Hospital, with 27 originally believed missing.
Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn initially stated: “We are holding on to hope. Look at Chile, all those miners were trapped and they all came out alive.”
Early Saturday, Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall reported 29 were trapped underground, ranging from 17 to 62 years old. They were a mix of New Zealand, South African, Australian, and British nationals. Miners’ families congregated at a hall in Greymouth, and were updated by the search and rescue leadership twice daily. Media briefings were also held twice daily.
Families and the public began to feel frustration that rescuers had not yet moved into the mine. The search co-ordinator Superintendent Garry Knowles explained that the gas levels in the mine meant that the risk of another explosion was too high to allow entry. The Police Commissioner, Minister of Police, and Prime Minister all confirmed they supported the decision not to send rescuers in while expert analysis showed the mine was still unsafe.
The New Zealand Defence Force supplied a bomb-disposal robot to take video footage inside the mine. However, the robot only made it 550 metres up the tunnel before being shorted out by water in the mine. Later, the robot was restarted; this time it made it 1000 metres in before running out of battery. A second Defence robot was also sent in and recorded some video footage. A 160 metre long bore-hole was drilled from the surface into an area deeper in the mine to gauge the gas levels in areas closer to where the miners could be. It was reported that the samples from that bore-hole were showing up to 95 percent methane.
At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Superintendent Knowles reported that there had been a second large explosion at 2:37pm, at least as big as the first. “Unfortunately I have to inform the public of New Zealand that at 2.37pm today there was another massive explosion underground and based on that explosion no one survived.” He said the rescue team and experts believed survival was impossible. The Grey District Mayor reported that a recovery team had gone in while gas levels were still low. In a more extended briefing, the Pike River Mining chief executive explained this had not occurred as the mine was still too dangerous, but said they would do everything they could to recover the bodies.
International leaders including Queen Elizabeth have sent their condolences.
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March
14
Commercial Carpet Evanston Is Durable, Easy To Install And Inexpensive
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byAlma Abell
The decor of an office building plays an important role in the overall look and feeling of the space and it has an impact on the productivity of the employees. One of the primary ways to improve the comfort of an office is with the flooring, which should be easy to walk and stand on as well as make the space feel like a comfortable environment. Commercial Carpet Evanston is available in rolls or tiles, is easy to install and will provide support for the employees who are sitting and /or standing all day.
A fully staffed office can have a lot of foot traffic, which leads to spills, stains and tears on the carpet. Commercial Carpet Evanston is typically manufactured with a hard, rubber type backing, so when spills occur, the liquid does not seep through and form standing puddles under the carpet, which can lead to mold and mildew. Carpet tiles are a good option for a space that may be susceptible to excess spills, such as in a break area as well as under the desks of employees. The carpet tiles are easy to remove and replace, should there ever be a severe stain or water damage.The installation of commercial carpet tiles is easy and in some situations the tiles can be installed without the use of adhesive. If you are opening a new office building and have a tight budget, it is typically less expensive to install carpet tiles than rolled carpeting, hardwood or tile flooring. The padding of a floor is vital for preventing achy backs and legs of the employees, so it is important that whether you install rolled commercial carpeting or commercial carpet tiles to use either a carpet with a thick backing or an additional layer of padding under the carpet. Although it is recommended that commercial carpet be installed by a professional carpet installer, it is a fairly simple task that can be done by almost anyone. If you choose to do the installation yourself, it is important to take careful measurements of each area where the carpet will be installed and buy extra in case there are mistakes during the cutting or if you install carpet tiles, have a few extra in case of future accidents.
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Wikinews interviews John Wolfe, Democratic Party presidential challenger to Barack Obama
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Sunday, May 20, 2012
U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate John Wolfe, Jr. of Tennessee took some time to answer a few questions from Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn.
Wolfe, an attorney based out of Chattanooga, announced his intentions last year to challenge President Barack Obama in the Democratic Party presidential primaries. So far, he has appeared on the primary ballots in New Hampshire, Missouri, and Louisiana. In Louisiana, he had his strongest showing, winning 12 percent overall with over 15 percent in some congressional districts, qualifying him for Democratic National Convention delegates. However, because certain paperwork had not been filed, the party stripped Wolfe of the delegates. Wolfe says he will sue the party to receive them.
Wolfe will compete for additional delegates at the May 22 Arkansas primary and the May 29 Texas primary. He is the only challenger to Obama in Arkansas, where a May 10 Hendrix College poll of Democrats shows him with 38 percent support, just short of the 45 percent for Obama. Such an outing would top the margin of Texas prison inmate Keith Russell Judd, who finished 18 percent behind Obama with 41 percent in the West Virginia Democratic primary; the strongest showing yet against the incumbent president. Despite these prospects, the Democratic Party of Arkansas has already announced that if Wolfe wins any delegates in their primary, again, due to paperwork, the delegates will not be awarded. Wolfe will appear on the Texas ballot alongside Obama, activist Bob Ely, and historian Darcy Richardson, who ended his campaign last month.
Wolfe has previously run for U.S. Congress as the Democratic Party’s nominee. On his campaign website, he cites the influence “of the Pentagon, Wall Street, and corporations” on the Obama administration as a reason for his challenge, believing these negatively affect “loyal Americans, taxpayers and small businesses.” Wolfe calls for the usage of anti-trust laws to break up large banks, higher taxes on Wall Street, the creation of an “alternative federal reserve” to assist community banks, and the implementation of a single-payer health care system.
With Wikinews, Wolfe discusses his campaign, the presidency of Barack Obama, corporations, energy, the federal budget, immigration, and the nuclear situation in Iran among other issues.
Contents
- 1 Campaign
- 2 Challenging the incumbent
- 3 Policy
- 4 Related news
- 5 Sources
