Ex-Kiwis player dies in mine
09 September 2006
By LOIS WATSON, SANDRA COX and KERI WELHAM
The West Coast coalminer killed in a shaft collapse and trapped 800 metres below the surface was a father of five and a former rugby league international.
Bernard Green, 47, died yesterday when the mine shaft he was working in, at the Roa Coal Mine, collapsed. Nine other miners escaped uninjured from the mine, 30 kilometres northeast of Greymouth.
One of Mr Green's sons also worked down the mine but was not at work when the accident happened.
Nicknamed Hercules by his mates because of his strength, Mr Green was killed when a mine shaft collapsed at 11am yesterday.
St John Ambulance paramedics were flown to the site, arriving an hour later, but were stood down about 3.45pm.
Mr Green was married to policewoman Rosemary Green. A former top rugby league player, he scored two tries for the Kiwis on their 1980 tour of Great Britain and France.
In later years he became a champion coal shoveller, and he and his large family were well-known in Runanga where they lived, and in nearby Blackball.
Trevor O'Neill, a teammate of Mr Green in the Runanga rugby league club the Seagulls, said Mr Green was a great man of phenomenal strength.
"He could just pick stuff up on to his shoulder and away he'd go."
His loves in life were his work and league. He coached a local team and his wife was also involved in the club. "They just loved league – they were born for it."
Mr Green had been a miner all his working life and appeared unfazed by the risks. He would often volunteer to do a double shift, Mr O'Neill said.
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said the union would ensure the death was thoroughly investigated.
The century-old Roa Mine is the biggest privately owned coalmine on the West Coast and New Zealand's only private coal exporter. Roa employs about 30 miners, working on shifts to tap two big coal seams in the Greymouth coalfield.
Mr Little said miners from the nearby Spring Creek and Terrace mines had rushed to Roa to try to rescue Mr Green.
West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor described Mr Green as a well-liked member of the community and praised the rescue effort.
"Mining is a very challenging industry where safety is paramount. I know every effort is made to make the environment as secure as possible. I applaud the efforts of the rescue team who worked so swiftly to recover his body."
Mr Green is the second West Coast miner to die in a mining accident this year. Robert McGowan, 39, was killed at the Tiller Mine near Greymouth on March 8 when the mine was flooded by water from nearby abandoned workings.
Three individuals and a company now face a total of 13 charges under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and associated mining regulations in relation to his death. His co-worker Gary Haddow, 52, survived.
In January 2001, miner Allan Hepburn, 56, of Reefton, suffered a broken leg, several broken ribs, and a dislocated hip when a coal wall collapsed on him at Roa Coal Mine.
He was dug out by his shift supervisor from under a slab of coal and the accident was described at the time by a company director, Brent Francis, as the first accident at the mine.
According to the Labour Department's chief health and safety adviser, Mike Cosman, the key dangers in a New Zealand coalmine include a rush of water, a collapsing roof or spontaneous combustion of explosive gases.
09 September 2006
By LOIS WATSON, SANDRA COX and KERI WELHAM
The West Coast coalminer killed in a shaft collapse and trapped 800 metres below the surface was a father of five and a former rugby league international.
Bernard Green, 47, died yesterday when the mine shaft he was working in, at the Roa Coal Mine, collapsed. Nine other miners escaped uninjured from the mine, 30 kilometres northeast of Greymouth.
One of Mr Green's sons also worked down the mine but was not at work when the accident happened.
Nicknamed Hercules by his mates because of his strength, Mr Green was killed when a mine shaft collapsed at 11am yesterday.
St John Ambulance paramedics were flown to the site, arriving an hour later, but were stood down about 3.45pm.
Mr Green was married to policewoman Rosemary Green. A former top rugby league player, he scored two tries for the Kiwis on their 1980 tour of Great Britain and France.
In later years he became a champion coal shoveller, and he and his large family were well-known in Runanga where they lived, and in nearby Blackball.
Trevor O'Neill, a teammate of Mr Green in the Runanga rugby league club the Seagulls, said Mr Green was a great man of phenomenal strength.
"He could just pick stuff up on to his shoulder and away he'd go."
His loves in life were his work and league. He coached a local team and his wife was also involved in the club. "They just loved league – they were born for it."
Mr Green had been a miner all his working life and appeared unfazed by the risks. He would often volunteer to do a double shift, Mr O'Neill said.
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said the union would ensure the death was thoroughly investigated.
The century-old Roa Mine is the biggest privately owned coalmine on the West Coast and New Zealand's only private coal exporter. Roa employs about 30 miners, working on shifts to tap two big coal seams in the Greymouth coalfield.
Mr Little said miners from the nearby Spring Creek and Terrace mines had rushed to Roa to try to rescue Mr Green.
West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor described Mr Green as a well-liked member of the community and praised the rescue effort.
"Mining is a very challenging industry where safety is paramount. I know every effort is made to make the environment as secure as possible. I applaud the efforts of the rescue team who worked so swiftly to recover his body."
Mr Green is the second West Coast miner to die in a mining accident this year. Robert McGowan, 39, was killed at the Tiller Mine near Greymouth on March 8 when the mine was flooded by water from nearby abandoned workings.
Three individuals and a company now face a total of 13 charges under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and associated mining regulations in relation to his death. His co-worker Gary Haddow, 52, survived.
In January 2001, miner Allan Hepburn, 56, of Reefton, suffered a broken leg, several broken ribs, and a dislocated hip when a coal wall collapsed on him at Roa Coal Mine.
He was dug out by his shift supervisor from under a slab of coal and the accident was described at the time by a company director, Brent Francis, as the first accident at the mine.
According to the Labour Department's chief health and safety adviser, Mike Cosman, the key dangers in a New Zealand coalmine include a rush of water, a collapsing roof or spontaneous combustion of explosive gases.
