20 Nov 2018

Pike River families meet with police in Greymouth

10:43 am on 20 November 2018

The families of the Pike River Mine workers will meet with the police in Greymouth today to discuss what their investigation into the disaster will involve.

Relatives of mine victims Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse embrace after the announcement of the re-entry plan.

Relatives of mine victims Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse embrace after the announcement of the re-entry plan. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Police were making their own assessment of whether it would be safe for them to re-enter the main entry tunnel and expected to have an answer in about two weeks.

Detective Sergeant Grant Collins said regardless of whether they actually entered the mine, the police would still be involved, from coordinating the collecting evidence to identifying any remains that were found.

From 11am on Tuesday, the police would meet with the families to talk about this and answer any questions.

He said a police team would proceed with mine safety induction in the coming days so they were ready to enter the mine if required.

Mr Collins said even if they did not go underground it would be helpful for them to have an understanding of what was involved so they could better coordinate the collecting of evidence by others.

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