The Pike River Recovery Agency have spoken to media this afternoon after plans to re-enter the mine drift tomorrow were abandoned.
A three-man search team was due to enter the drift tomorrow, however a safety issue means work to re-open the site has been halted and entry will have to be delayed.
Unexpected and unexplained readings were reported by the atmospheric monitoring systems in the Pike River mine yesterday.
Dinghy Pattinson, who was to lead the expedition, said borehole 51, directly above the roof hole, is the area of concern and that was where there was a slight oxygen reading.
“For us to continue the operation, they need to continue to find out where it’s coming from,” he said.
He said putting nitrogen down the borehole lowered the pressure but was only a band aid for the situation.
"The issue was only discovered yesterday and the agency is consulting experts in the United Kingdom and Australia," he said.
“We take all our advice from our experts.
“There will definitely be a re-entry - mining is really challenging and mining has a lot of unknowns,” he said.
But, he said they had to follow a process, and the agency would not speculate on how long the process would take.
“It doesn’t help to speculate. Give us time to get information, we have only just had this hiccup,” Mr Pattinson said.
He said it was an easy call to make because it was about safety.
Pike River widow Anna Osborne said she was disappointed and the families will be disappointed but it’s a necessary thing to happen and she said she is" grateful the agency are doing the right thing".
“It’s not a show-stopper,” she said.
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