An operation has begun to extinguish the fire coming from the vent shaft of the Pike River mine and cool the surrounding concrete pad, using water pumped up from a nearby creek.

A one-year-old baby is in a serious condition in Waikato Hospital after choking on a Twistie on Friday. The baby was brought in to Te Kuiti Hospital in the afternoon with choking and seizures after reportedly eating a "Twistie" snack.

Police are hunting a hit-and-driver who ran into a group of men fighting in central Hamilton overnight.

All police chases which led to a record 14 deaths this year were sparked by minor offences, rather than serious crimes, figures released to the Herald under the Official Information Act reveal.

The mother of a girl who helped to rescue a friend of Raphael Alualu, who drowned after leaping into a swimming hole on Auckland's North Shore, say she is very proud of what her daughter did.

It could take weeks for a GAG unit to put out a coal fire in the Pike River mine, police say.

The strength of the West Coast community will help it overcome its collective grief over the deaths of the 29 men who died in the Pike River mine tragedy, Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand said today at the memorial service in Greymouth.

John Key today delivered a personal message to the mothers whose children have been left fatherless as a result of the Pike River mine tragedy. His was one of several moving tributes at today's Remembrance Service.

"Our lives changed forever" when the Pike River Mine exploded, the mining company chief executive told mourners today.

West Coast poet Helen Wilson has offered an emotional tribute to the men who lost their lives in the Pike River mine.

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.