http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/new...ike-River-Mine
"But whatever the cause of the explosion, one fact was obvious: it would not have occurred in an environment where the critical risks were properly controlled. "Ultimately, all explosions are a manifestation of the failure of an organisation's health and safety management system," the commission noted."
"In the 48 days before the explosion there had been 21 reports of methane levels reaching explosive volumes, and 27 reports of lesser, but potentially dangerous, volumes of the gas," the commission noted. "The reports of excess methane continued up to the very morning of the tragedy. The warnings were not heeded."
"Gordon Ward, who had been Pike River Coal's chief executive until two months before the disaster, remained resolutely in Australia, where he now lived. Tony Radford, who had chaired the Pike board until 2006, remained a director until June 2011, and was chair of New Zealand Oil & Gas, wrote a brief submission under a compulsion order from the Royal Commission. He was not called to give testimony."