By Kloe Palmer
One of the two survivors has spoken for the first time about the explosion and what went on underground.
Russell Smith works at the Pike River Mine as a coal cutter at the coalface; on Friday he was an hour late for work and admits that it saved his life.
“As luck would have it I was late getting to work; I was an hour late so didn’t get up the mine until late. If I did I was probably up the face with the rest of them and would be trapped there,” he told 3 News this evening.
3 News
source: newshub archive
