Faith, hope and the media hordes

Relatives of the Pike River miners leave a meeting after being briefed by mine management. Photo / NZPA

Greymouth is under siege.

Motels are full - media have descended in droves.

The 29 miners remain trapped in a gloomy coal mine not far away, their welfare still unknown.

The media, like the stunned townfolk, await word.

This mining disaster has horrified not just the town but the country.

At 2pm, the police hold a press conference and the room at the police station is chocka, standing room only, with the likes of TV3's Mike McRoberts and Sunday's Ian Sinclair in attendence.

Even reporters from Australian television and newspapers are here as it is thought at least some of the trapped men are Australian.

This story is huge and every editor in the country is demanding information.

Suddenly, a security guard appears and makes a pathway through the crowd for the Prime Minister. John Key is in town and looks pale.

He talks of the miners as "these 29 brave men".

The Government is doing everything in its power to make sure they are taken out of the mine in one piece - "that's our priority", he tells the crowd.

"Obviously, this is a time of huge anxiety and concern for the families and for the miners so our hearts and thoughts go out to them."

After the press conference, Key met the miners' families at the Pike River Coal Company offices in town.

No one is allowed close to the mine which is half an hour out of town, so the families congregate here.

The media do not venture too close, but stand across the street waiting for Key to emerge, then race after him.

Families start to spill out, hugging each other and wiping away tears.

This waiting is excruciating.

In the evening church services are held, to offer both hope and solace to the townsfolk.

At the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, only 25 or so here are regulars - the other 90-odd packing the church are seeking spiritual help at this time of uncertainty.

Archdeacon Robin Kingston tells the congregation "if there's one thing we're going to need, it's strength and unity".

If the outcome is good, he says, it will be very easy to celebrate. But if the outcome is not so good, people will need all the energy they can get.

There is nothing people can do while waiting but talk and share and hug.

If ever there was a time for faith, this was it, he said.

Outside the church a parishioner listened through the glass doors, directing latecomers inside.

It's a small town, he said, only about 8000 people. But everyone knows someone in the mine or someone related to them.

The town has had tragedies before though.

The last big disaster was the Strongman mine in 1967 where 19 people died.

There is still hope but people who work in the area say there is no way the Pike River miners are alive.

A local whispers then looks away.

"It's just not going to happen."