An explosion has ripped through a New Zealand's largest coal mine with almost 30 people inside. Five men, dazed and lightly wounded, stumbled to the surface, while 27 are missing.
Police said the electricity in the mine went out shortly before the blast which was powerful enough to blow one driver off his machine deep in a mine tunnel and this may have caused ventilation problems. One mining safety expert said a gas explosion was one possible cause.
Police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn stressed it was too early to attribute a cause to the explosion late Friday afternoon.
Rescue teams and emergency workers rushed by helicopter and by road to the mine, located in remote and rugged mountains near the town of Atarau on New Zealand's South Island.