A total of 18 boreholes have been drilled and 20 imaged during the Police investigation – eight drilled and 10 imaged during the first drilling programme in 2021/2022 and 10 drilled and imaged this year.
The remains of up to 12 of the 29 miners have been located
Directed by Rob Sarkies, behind Out of the Blue, Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story, and Scarfies), and working in close collaboration with members of the Pike Riverfamilies, the film captures the “profound impact on the community of one of the worst mining disasters in Aotearoa New Zealand’s history”.
On November 19, 2010 just after 3.44pm, an explosion tore through the Pike River Mine, 46km northeast of Greymouth on the South Island’s West Coast.
It looks to tell the story of the Pike families who took on a 13-year battle for justice and accountability, “shining a light on what can be achieved when ordinary people band together, choose to stand up, and fight for what they believe”, the filmmakers say.
“It has been a huge privilege to work closely with members of the Pike River families over the last five years as we prepare to share their story with Aotearoa New Zealand, and the rest of the world,” Sarkies said.
“We need films like this in the world to show what is possible when individuals take a stand against injustice. Ordinary people fighting against power, doing it in their own way, and having an impact.”
Pike River's 29 crosses drive home the scale of the disaster. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Casting for the film will be announced at a later date.
Pike River is produced by Vicky Pope (Savage, Went Up The Hill, Gardening with Soul) with Executive Producers Paul Gough, James Dean and Sarkies.
Madman will distribute theatrically in New Zealand and Australia, with Signature Entertainment UK handling international sales.
The film will be made in association with the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, Three, the New Zealand Screen Production Grant and Park Road Post Production.
A Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine tragedy found the “immediate cause of the first explosion was the ignition of a substantial volume of methane gas”, but could only speculate on what might have triggered ignition.
“The mine was new and the owner, Pike River Coal Ltd (Pike), had not completed the systems and infrastructure necessary to safely produce coal. Its health and safety systems were inadequate,” the commission’s report said.
Pike River Mine family members Anna Osborne, left, and Sonya Rockhouse are among those still pushing for a criminal prosecution. Photo / NZME
WorkSafe laid charges against former Pike River boss Peter Whittall in 2013, but the case was dropped after a $3.4 million settlement was paid – a deal the Supreme Court later said was unlawful.
The money was split between the two survivors and the families of the 29 missing, a total of $110,000 for each man who had been down the mine that day.
Australian company VLI Drilling, which employed three of the men who died, also pleaded guilty to health and safety charges and was fined $46,800.
The Pike River Recovery Agency (PRRA) completed its $50 million re-entry of the mine’s access tunnel to try to recover remains and find any forensic clues in 2021.
It had been due to permanently seal the mine while police were partway through their borehole investigations.
But some Pike River families who lost loved ones, and had fought for years to try and get authorities to try and find their bodies, launched legal action to try and stop it from happening.
Some of the families hope a criminal prosecution is still possible.
