21 Nov 2025

Pike River families lawyer says manslaughter charges possible

From Checkpoint, 5:28 pm on 21 November 2025

A lawyer for Pike River families says police now have enough evidence to lay manslaughter charges over the mine disaster. Twenty-nine men were killed in the 2010 mine explosion and while charges under the Health and Safety Act were laid against former Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall, they were dropped in exchange for a $3 million payment to the victims families. The police undertook further drilling into the mine in 2021 to gather more evidence and have been working with the Crown Solicitor trying to decide whether to lay charges. Samantha Gee has more.