Former Pike River Coal (PRC) boss Peter Whittall says he was not aware of a proposal, at the initial planning stage, for the West Coast mine to have two exits.
"No-one ever had that discussion with me," he today told the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the explosion at the West Coast mine in November last year which left 29 workers dead.
When he started work with Pike River, the approved initial design had always involved a single tunnel and ventilation shaft.
The emergency escape strategy was to use either the tunnel as an entry and exit point or the ventilation shaft, which had a ladder which could support people's weight and had harnesses in case of a fall.
In the 2005 plans, a second exit was planned to the west of the mine, but construction had not begun at the time of the explosion.
Witnesses last week criticised the absence of an escape tunnel from the mine.
Mr Whittall told the three-man commission that specific changes to the mine were made, but the fundamental design did not change.
The first phase of the inquiry focused on New Zealand's regulatory environment, and the geography, approval and development of the mine.
A series of experts told the inquiry last week PRC had insufficient knowledge of the geology of the mine, ignored the advice of mine experts, overestimated its profitability and underestimated safety risks.
