Pike families to visit 170m drift seal
Stand with Pike Media release - 2 October, 2019
Tomorrow 30 Pike River family members will travel the furthest into the Pike River drift they have ever been allowed.
The journey to the 170m seal - the
furthest point anyone has been into the drift since 2011 -
will take place tomorrow morning from 9am and will be the
last chance for families to enter the drift before full
recovery of the 2.3km tunnel begins. Media is welcome to
attend.
Pike River mum Sonya Rockhouse says the
day will be emotional. “This will be the closest most of
us will have been to our loved ones since that awful day in
2010.
“I don’t know how I’m going to feel
when I’m there. Right now I’m nervous about it but also
proud that Anna and I have been able to help the families
get this far.”
For Pike River widow, Anna Osborne
the moment is particularly important - after the event she
will be heading into stem-cell treatment for her lymphoma
cancer. “I’m starting treatment the next day, but the
thought of standing that close to Milt and of how far we
have come will give me strength. I wouldn’t miss that for
the world.
“This has been a long long journey,
but we have fought hard for truth and justice and it is
almost here. That’s something we need to thank all of New
Zealand for, without that support our men and the evidence
that could get them justice would have been locked away
forever.”
ENDS