They are a hardy type in Ataura. As might be expected of those living in a town on the remote west coast of New Zealand's South Island, the locals pride themselves on their resilience and ability to cope with adversity.
But as they waited to learn the fate of 29 men who have not been heard of since yesterday when an explosion ripped through the Pike River mine, many in the close-knit community were fearing the worst.
The local mayor, Tony Kokshoorn, has briefed the families of the missing men, who include two Britons. He said they were "grief-stricken" by a disaster that has touched the entire community.
"There's a little bit of anger, there's a little bit of despair," Kokshoorn said. "There's tension building all round, people aren't talking about the worst, but I can see it on their faces.
"One of my councillors, he's down there [in the mine]," Kokshoorn said. "There was a young guy that just got the rugby league player of the region last week; he's down there. There's a local publican, real popular fellow; his son's down there. There's a woman I talked to; her husband's down there, they've got five young kids. It's right across the board. It's just devastating for our community."
Local police have insisted they "remain positive" the men will be found alive. But so far they have been unable to send in rescuers because the area has not been proven to be safe.
A local union representative, Trevor Bolderson, warned the chances of a second blast were high. "Gas samples taken at the mine are turning the wrong way and we are expecting that the second explosion may be forthcoming," he said. "At the moment the rescue guys can't get into the mine because of this."
New Zealand's prime minister, John Key, said his government was "doing what we can to make sure these 29 brave men are taken out of the mine and are here in one piece".
Both missing Britons are believed to be Scottish. One, Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire, emigrated to New Zealand two years ago to be closer to his mother and sister, according to Scotland's Courier newspaper. The second has been named in media reports as Malcolm Campbell, 25, originally from St Andrews in Fife.
News of the disaster, which is likely to have been caused by methane gas, emerged when two injured miners stumbled to the surface hours after a blast shot up the mine's 108m ventilation shaft.
But since then Peter Whittall, chief executive of Pike River Coal, said nothing had been heard from the 16 employees and 13 contract miners known to be below.
Underground communications are down except for one emergency phone that rescuers have been calling constantly without success.
Whittall suggested the miners, who range in age from 17 to 62 and include a South African and two Australians, might be trapped in an area away from the phone or are reluctant to venture from an area of safety to answer it.
"It's quite conceivable that there is a large number of men sitting around the end of the open [ventilation] pipe, waiting and wondering why we are taking our time to get to them," Whittall said.
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