Police confirm that they have shown the families of the Pike River mine victims images taken in the mine.
"The families expressed a wish to see the video image described to them a fortnight ago which shows a shape highly suspicious of a person near a borehole in the mine," Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls said.
Mr Nicholls said that the image was of poor quality. It is impossible to determine if it is a body. He said that the families were also shown footage from a laser scan (Calscan).
"That image, in the vicinity of the three boxes, shows something that could be a body or possibly a number of things.”
He stressed the latest enhanced image is very indeterminate however it is important to keep the families as up to date as possible.
Mr Nicholls said that Police had started on electronic enhancement of images from the mine and that it would take a further 2 to 3 months to complete the process.
"While clarification of the images may help the investigation it is our understanding that under present conditions the mine is unsafe to enter".
Ends
Media contact:
Grant Ogilvie, PNHQ media team: 04 474 9476