Pike River: Charges dropped, 'blood money'
All 12 charges laid against former Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall in relation to the 2010 disaster at the mine which killed 29 men have been dropped. Instead, Mr Whittall and Pike River Coal have offered a voluntary payment on behalf of the directors and officers of the company to the families of the men and two survivors, in what has been described as "blood money" by one widow.