Driller Admits Lapses in New Zealand Coal Mine Disaster - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Driller Admits Lapses in New Zealand Coal Mine Disaster

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -

An Australian drilling company has pleaded guilty to three health-and-safety violations for its involvement in a 2010 coal mine disaster in New Zealand that killed 29 miners.

VLI Drilling pleaded guilty Tuesday in a New Zealand court to charges that it failed to keep its workers safe at the Pike River coal mine. The company faces a maximum fine of 750,000 New Zealand dollars ($607,000).

VLI, which was a contractor at the mine, employed two of the miners who died in a series of methane-fueled explosions.

Pike River Coal Ltd., which ran the mine, elected Tuesday not to contest nine charges. A court is scheduled in October to determine the bankrupt company's culpability.

Pike River's former CEO Peter Whittall faces 12 criminal charges, which he's vowed to fight.

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