A massive second explosion at the Pike River mine in New Zealand has extinguished all hope of bringing the 29 missing miners back to the surface alive.
The "enormous", blast, which took place at 2.37pm, was more violent than the first and was believed to have been caused by a large build up of methane within the mine over the past five days.
Peter Whittall, the mine chief, told a hastily convened press conference that it was "extremely unlikely" that anyone underground could have endured the force of the explosion.
Visibly upset, Mr Whittall said: "While we were hopeful that we could get some men out of the mine, it was realistic that many of them would never have come out alive.
New Zealand mine explosion: all miners believed dead after huge second blast - Telegraph
The "enormous", blast, which took place at 2.37pm, was more violent than the first and was believed to have been caused by a large build up of methane within the mine over the past five days.
Peter Whittall, the mine chief, told a hastily convened press conference that it was "extremely unlikely" that anyone underground could have endured the force of the explosion.
Visibly upset, Mr Whittall said: "While we were hopeful that we could get some men out of the mine, it was realistic that many of them would never have come out alive.
New Zealand mine explosion: all miners believed dead after huge second blast - Telegraph