Bells tolled and flags were lowered to half mast today to pay tribute to the 29 miners lost in the Pike River tragedy.

While refusing to focus on the Pike River mine's future today, CEO Peter Whittall did reveal it's future worth.

Check here for developments in the wake of the Pike River mine disaster today.

Pike River CEO Peter Whittall expressed his regret today at how he initially delivered his news to the families of the 29 miners lost in the disaster.

The family of Queenslander Willy Joynson want answers about why dangerous levels of gas were not detected before last Friday's blast.

The families of some of the men trapped in the Pike River mine expressed sorrow rather than anger at a meeting today, John Key says.

World leaders are sending support and sympathy to the families of the men who died at the Pike River coal mine.

Rescue authorities are vowing to recover the bodies of the 29 miners - but admit they don't know when it will happen.

A man has been charged with manslaughter over the death of a woman hit by a car while picnicking with a friend on the roadside north of Wellington last month.

'People find just that extra little bit, they take a deep breath, they will raise the bar…,' Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn says.

The abrupt certainty of a second blast at Pike River shattered hundreds of loving hearts.

Before the service began, 29 candles flickered on a table near the altar surrounded by many unlit candles waiting to be lit by mourners.

'It's the finality of the second explosion that rips at the guts of the country,' John Key tells media.

The first four hours after Friday's Pike River mine blast was the only time rescuers could have entered the mine, a safety expert says.