On 19 November 2010, 31 miners were working in New Zealand’s Pike River Mine when an explosion was caused by the ignition of built up methane gas. Two miners managed to escape, however the other 29 died as a result of the blast or the toxic atmosphere it created. Two of the miners who died were Australian.
During the next nine days, there were three more explosions within the mine, providing no opportunity for the Mines Rescue Service to safely enter the tunnel. The miners were declared dead after the second explosion.
Australia deployed specialist equipment and personnel to New Zealand to assist with rescue operations. According to New Zealand Police, the amount spent on search, rescue and recovery efforts totalled almost $11 million.
The mine shaft was sealed in late 2010 and a Royal Commission report on the disaster was released in 2012. An operation to recover the bodies of the miners began in October 2013, however the bodies have yet to be recovered.
Due to the loss of Australian lives, this event has been included in this dataset.