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.

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.

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.

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.

Flames were last night shooting from the top of a 108m ventilation shaft at the Pike River coal mine - and only a couple of mountain peaks away a 43-year-old fire from the Strongman mine continues to billow smoke.

A trackside fire has shut down train services on Auckland's Southern and Eastern line between Otahuhu and Papakura.