The discovery of a fully-clothed body of a miner in New Zealand's collapsed Pike River mine has reinvigorated angry calls to "get our boys out".
The families of 29 men, including two Australians, killed in a series of methane blasts on November 19 say the revelation, together with news the mine's firefighting box had been opened, was a "painful indication" the men may have survived the first explosion.
"Hearing that has made us think `maybe there was hope, maybe we should have forced them somehow to get in there earlier and try to save them'," spokesman for the families, Bernie Monk, told AAP on Thursday.
Mr Monk confirmed he had contacted the families of the two Queensland victims, Willie Joynson, 49, and Josh Ufer, 25, late on Wednesday to pass on the news.
"They were terribly saddened, as you could imagine," said Mr Monk, who lost his son Michael in the South Island tragedy.
"They were very grateful for the update and to be involved, but it's ripped open the wounds really, and made them rethink what could have been."
A senior forensic pathologist has confirmed a video image taken in February looked like a fully-clothed person lying face down in the mine.
Images also show a firefighting box had been opened, police said.
This appears to contradict the findings at a January inquest that all the men died in the first blast.
New Zealand's Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls has stressed that the footage is hazy and more detailed camera equipment imported from the US was needed to verify the find.
"It is important to note that the images we currently have are not that clear," Nicholls said.
"More refinement and interpretation of what currently appears to be a body is needed."
But the local mayor, Tony Kokshoorn, who says he's "always suspected" the bodies were intact, said all families and residents wanted now was to see the men brought out.
"There's been enough talking about this. Now we've got the proof it's time to stop analysing this and that and get in there," he told AAP.
The receivers of the Pike River company have said it was unsafe to enter, and have also indicated plans to sell the mine to another company which can take on the complex task of body recovery.
Mr Monk seconded the mayor's call, saying "the families deserve it".
"It's cruel to leave us hanging like this," he said.
Meanwhile, a royal commission of inquiry into the disaster is due to get underway in Greymouth on May 24.
Set down for six months, the inquiry will investigate every aspect of the tragedy, from New Zealand mine regulation and geography to the formation and management of the Pike River mine, the explosions and the rescue efforts that followed. Commission chairman Judge Graham Panckhurst has said his mission was to "understand what happened at the mine, why it did happen and what can be done to prevent it happening again".
