Several thousand people have filled Greymouth’s Omoto Racecourse and numerous MPs and city mayors have taken their seats on the main stage for the Pike River Official Remembrance service

A GAG unit at the Pike River mine appears to be working with early indications a fire is dissipating.

Much of NZ will come to a standstill today as the victims of the Pike River tragedy are remembered.

2010 can only described as an annus calamitosus [disastrous year] for the New Zealand family.

A jet engine brought in to make the Pike River mine safe is now in place. Rescue services are hopeful it will be in use tonight so the process to recover the remains of the 29 trapped miners can begin.

An Australian-based online mining journal today called for NZ police to be blocked from controlling mine rescues.

Prime Minister John Key has asked all New Zealanders to observe two minutes’ silence at 2pm tomorrow to remember the 29 men who lost their lives as the Pike River Official Remembrance Service begins in Greymouth.

Hopes of recovering bodies are fast fading for families of the 29 miners lost in the Pike River mine.

An Australian expert was arriving in Greymouth tonight to provide advice on the jet engine GAG operation at the ill-fated Pike River Coal mine, where it's "highly likely" part of a coal seam has caught fire.

The chief executive of Pike River mine says the families of the 29 victims of the disaster are coming to terms with the fact they may not get their loved ones back, as recovery efforts continue to be hindered.

Volunteers have been working "frantically" to prepare for Thursday's remembrance service to honour the 29 men who lost their lives in the Pike River Coal mine

Deployment of the "GAG" unit at the Pike River coal mine has been delayed after a fire at the entrance to the mine this morning. Rescuers are trying to extinguish a coal fire so the bodies of 29 trapped men can be recovered.

Nightmares about the 12 Queensland miners he could not save have haunted John Brady for more than 20 years.

The Royal Commission into the Pike River mine tragedy will be headed by High Court Judge Graham Panckhurst.

Jim O'Donnell helped drag his dead mates out of the Strongman mine in a marathon rescue.

Families grieving after the Pike River disaster have called on a lawyer who rallied for victims in a previous West Coast disaster.

Another explosion shortly before 2pm today damaged some of the infrastructure at Pike River mine, but a "gagging" operation is still on track to commence tomorrow.

The Prime Minister and Governor-General will speak at a memorial for the 29 men who died in the Pike River Coal mine.

The Pike River blast has led some miners to discuss whether it is safe to remain in the industry.

Leigh Hart, aka That Guy, shares a very personal account of how mining disasters can affect families.

An NZ Mines Rescue member wants the public to understand what the rescue team members are going through.

Broadcaster Maggie Barry, whose cousin Michael Monk was lost at the Pike River mine, understands when people asked counsellors "funny" questions.