Dead bodies of some
miners who were killed in the infamous Pike River mine disaster, one of the
worst mine disasters in New Zealand, have been found after 11 years. An
explosion in a mine in New Zealand’s South Island in November 2010 killed at
least 29 workers. For more than a decade, family members of the workers have
been appealing to the administration to find their loved ones’ moral remains.

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Finally, police on
Wednesday announced that some of those remains have been found two days prior
to the 11th anniversary of the disaster. “We have recovered some
images from the boreholes that confirm two deaths, two bodies, and with the
possibility of a third body,” a police official told the media.

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He added that the
finding of more bodies is a “stark reminder of the pain, of the loss” and hoped
that finding the pictures would help affected families find some closure. The
police are currently working with forensic units to identify the bodies.

Anna Osborne had
lost her husband Milton in the tragedy. To her, the news that some of the bodies
have been found has come as a shock. But it has also brought her some relief
and “a bit of pride”. “We fought really hard to get this police investigation
up and going,” she told the Guardian.

Rick Durbridge,
who lost his son to the tragedy, shares in Osborne’s pride and sense of relief.
“We’ve fought hard for years now to get justice for our boys, and this is part
of it happening,” he said adding that the families will lend all possible support
to the police in the investigation.

A criminal probe
into the Pike River mine tragedy is still underway. In 2012, a royal commission
report had found evidence of negligence towards safety warnings and said that government
regulators had failed to effectively inspect it No individual has been
prosecuted over the disaster yet.