Pike River disaster three years on IT'S three years since a huge explosion ripped through New Zealand's Pike River mine but the remains of the 29 men who were killed, including two Australians, still haven't been recovered. In the afternoon of November 19, 2010 there was a large methane explosion at the West Coast underground mine, north of Greymouth. Two miners survived the blast and it was initially thought 29 others could be rescued. But a second blast five days later dashed all hope, with then-Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall delivering the news to families that the miners hadn't survived. Two Australians, a South African and two Scots were among the dead. The youngest victim was 17, the oldest was 62. Three years on from the disaster, its effects are still being felt. The NZ government last week passed legislation to implement 16 recommendations made by the royal commission charged with finding out what happened at Pike River and why. The new laws and regulations will bring mining safety into line with international best practice, Labour Minister Simon Bridges said. The royal commission's damning report, released in November last year, said there were numerous warnings of a potential catastrophe. "The drive for coal production before the mine was ready created the circumstances within which the tragedy occurred," it said. Bringing those responsible for the health and safety failings that led to the miners' deaths has been a bittersweet process. In July this year, the company that owned the Pike River mine - now in receivership - was ordered to pay $NZ110,000 ($A98,970) to each of the families of the dead miners and fined $NZ760,000. However, the receivers said the company didn't have the money to pay the fine and gave the families just a fraction of the compensation ordered - $NZ5000 each. Shareholders in parent company NZ Oil and Gas recently overwhelmingly voted against paying the compensation, and Prime Minister John Key has said the government won't either. Whittall will stand trial in Wellington next year on 12 health and safety charges, but police have ruled out laying criminal charges against any individuals involved in the disaster. Meanwhile, the families of 29 men still hope the remains of their loved ones can be recovered. Though there's no guarantee the bodies will be retrieved, the government has put $NZ10 million towards entering the first part of the mine. In October, the Defence Force completed the first part of the re-entry programme, removing 35 tonnes of debris from the area around the top of the mine's ventilation shaft. The next part of the plan will be to plug the top 50 to 60 metres of the 100m ventilation shaft with up to 700 cubic metres of concrete and other material. When the ventilation shaft in the main entry tunnel has been sealed nitrogen will be pumped into the tunnel to force out the methane, and mine experts will be able to walk down the 2.3km drift to a rockfall. But most of the bodies are believed to be in tunnels beyond and, at this point, the operation doesn't include entering the main mine workings.