A coal mine where dozens died in one of New Zealand's worst-ever industrial accidents was re-opened after nine years Tuesday as experts began the long process of recovering the men's remains.
Twenty-nine people were killed at the Pike River mine in November 2010 after a blast triggered by a build-up of flammable methane gas.
The South Island mine has been sealed since amid fears of further explosions, angering family members who wanted the entombed remains recovered.
While some experts said the mine was too dangerous to enter, relatives of the victims argued it was the only way to find the cause of the blast that killed 24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two Britons and a South African.
The controversy was so intense that when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was elected in 2017 she specifically appointed minister Andrew Little to oversee the mine's reopening.
Little announced Wednesday that the seal to the Pike River mine access tunnel, or drift, had been opened as families of the dead looked on.
"Today we have returned," he said, describing the tragedy as "a consequence of corporate and regulatory failure".
"New Zealand is not a country where 29 people can die at work without real accountability... and that is why today we have fulfilled our promise."
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