THE 29 NEW ZEALAND MINERS missing after an explosion in their coal mine last week are now feared to have been killed after a second explosion in the mine.

A second blast tore through the Pike River coal mine at 2:37pm local time (1:37am Irish time) and the police officers in charge of the rescue investigation has said that “based on that explosion, no one survived.

“We are now going into recovery mode,” Superintendent Gary Knowles said, adding that the second explosion had been as devastating as the first.

“I was at the mine myself when this actually occurred and the blast was horrific, just as severe as the first blast and we’re currently now moving into recovery phase.

“This is one of the most tragic things I have had to do as a police officer.”

The families of the victims – which include two Australians, a South African and two Scots – have criticised the plan of action pursued by the authorities in seeking to free the miners.

Lawrie Drew, the father of Zen (21) who died in the blasts, asked the Telegraph: “They had a window of opportunity to go in on Friday night, why didn’t they use it? We know no more than we did on Friday night.”

Families of the victims have also criticised the decision of the authorities not to show them the CCTV footage of the first explosion, which they say would have stopped them from harbouring false hope that their relatives could emerge alive.

Mine authorities have insisted, however, that there was no safe time during which they could attempt to drill the men free, saying that high levels of carbon monoxide and methane in the mine meant that a drilling operation would have risked sparking another blast.

Prime Minister John Key has declared the incident a “national tragedy, for their families, workmates, friends and our nation.”