Joseph Dunbar
November 23rd, 2010 at 8:18 am by David FarrarAll the 29 dead or trapped miners have been named, and all of them will have family and friends in grief over what has happened.
The story of Joseph Dunbar is arguably the saddest of all the miners. The day of the explosion was his first day in the mine, being the day after his 17th birthday. In fact he was not meant to start until Monday but was so excited, he was allowed to start on Friday. What a cruel irony.
November 23rd, 2010 at 8:34 am
In situations like this there will always be lucky breaks, and unlucky decisions. This is certainly amongst the saddest of the sad, especially as he is an only child. Others particularly hard hit will be those with young families. But it’s bloody awful for all connected to the disaster. Even if somehow some survivors are found it’s still a bloody disaster.
Vote:November 23rd, 2010 at 9:00 am
My stepfather, admittedly a somewhat superstitious old Irishman, would never let anyone start a job on a Friday. It would bring bad luck to all associated . . . . . . .
Vote:November 23rd, 2010 at 9:29 am
I am tired of the dumb media suggestions that hotheads should race in regardless of conditions. Whatever the outcome, I find it comforting to listen to the experts who are measured and knowledgeable and won’t be pushed into foolhardy actions by stupid reporters. And I am sick of TVNZ reporters standing at that road barrier waving behind them to show us where the hill is – and they can’t even give it its proper name. And last night they called Dunollie Don Alley for gods sake. Most of what they burble on about could be done from their main studio with no need for so many in Greymouth. They are an ignorant lot trying to beat up every story with little respect for the families who are facing unimaginable outcomes.
Vote:November 23rd, 2010 at 9:53 am
Joseph’s mother is amazing. Few people could speak on TV the way she did last night in such circumstances..Even more amazing if he is her only child.
Vote:November 23rd, 2010 at 10:26 am
The media feed off change – journo’s are required to feed their masters new angles regularly. Notice how the drilling of a hole or the launching of a robot (tried in Oz without success) which has now broken down (what did you expect – it is run by the defence force) are major news. Waiting is not an option – the journo’s will invent stories or stir up the bereft families to create stories.
Vote:November 23rd, 2010 at 11:17 am
I still can’t get my head around somebody so young being in there.
All the miners trapped seemed to have so much ahead of them
Vote:November 23rd, 2010 at 1:01 pm
The story of young Joseph Dunbar is both tragic and bewildering. If events play out as some inside the business suggest then there will be a sad outcome to a young man on the cusp of life. My condolences to Joseph family kia kaha.
Vote:Firstly “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” is an apt metaphor for the danger the mine presents in the aftermath of Friday’s explosion.
Following the wake of the explosion most of the oxygen in the tunnel was consumed in the blast leaving behind heavy concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen, coal dust, carbon and possibly methane which is constant. This gases are sitting in an inert state within the confines of the mine and without ventilation can remain in this state for an indefinite period creating a risk to rescuers.This leathal cocktail of gases would prove to be immediately fatal to breathe in as well as present a huge risk of igniting into an even larger and more catastrophic detonation.
The Rescue teams need to employ sensory devices to detect the concentrations of those gases prior to entering the mine that are sensitive enough to detect particles in parts per million.
I wish them well.
November 23rd, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Kevin, really? Heavy concentrations of toxic gasses such as nitrogen? You mean higher than the 80% currently in the air you’re breathing?
Nitrogen in it’s atmospheric form, N2, is pretty much inert. And harmless. And the diffusion rate of oxygen through air is ridiculously fast. It’s not likely at all to be a low oxygen environment in there.
Methane is not constant in the mine either. Large amounts are produced during mining activity, but once activity ceases, and new rock is not exposed, less methane is released, and overall methane levels decrease.
Fact is, the air that’s coming out of the ventilation shaft is breatheable. What the air is like further in to the mine is unknown, but will likely be breatheable also. The borehole which goes through today should tell us a lot more.
The big problem is combustible levels of methane, like a bomb, waiting to go off, preventing rescuers from going in.
It’s annoying, because people like you talk like you actually know something about the situation, when the reality is that you know very little.
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