Pike River Coal will have to reduce its workforce when it is ready to re-establish operations, but CEO Peter Whittall says reports of possible receivership were "extremely premature".

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.

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

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

In the wake of the Pike River tragedy, PhD student Jesse Dykstra blogs on the mining industry and the associated risks

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.

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.

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.

Up to 500 relatives and friends of the Pike River miners travelled to the mine today, which one mother described as "very healing".

The face of the country's worst mining disaster since 1914, Pike River CEO Peter Whittall, has fronted in the most trying of circumstances.

Experts suggest a split-second gas outburst may have overwhelmed the Pike River miners before they could respond to any alarms.