The level of toxic gas in the Pike River mine is still too high after for rescuers to be sent in.

A robot sent into the Pike River mine malfunctioned when water fell onto it.

Pike River Coal says work on evaluating the impact on its West Coast mine of Friday's explosion is "down the line", as it focuses for now on finding the 29 men unaccounted for.

If you haven't got time to read all our in-depth coverage of the Pike River Mine disaster, here's a quick summary of five key things you need to know today.

The families of 29 trapped men trapped after the Pike River mine blast are being updated on progress.

The sun smiled on Greymouth yesterday, but faces were grim and the sadness here was palpable.

Seventy-two hours on, mining officials and police have conceded they are preparing for the worst.

The day before he went down the mine for the first time, Joseph Dunbar turned 17.

A scientist says temperatures inside the Pike River mine may have soared higher than 1200C during the blast.

Drilling on a new borehole into the Pike River coal mine is in its final stages, with 20m of the 162m tunnel to go.

An Aussie mine expert recalls when rescuers were within metres of 12 trapped miners, only to be recalled due to "off the chart" gas readings.

Keep up with the latest updates from the Pike River mine, where 29 miners have been trapped since Friday's blast.

Rescuers plan to send a Defence Force robot into the Pike River coal mine where 29 miners remain trapped after an explosion on Friday, one gas levels drop.

nzherald.co.nz profiles the men trapped in the Pike River coal mine on the West Coast.

If you haven't got time to read all our in-depth coverage of the Pike River Mine disaster, here's a quick summary of five key things you need to know today.

The families of the trapped miners are holding onto hope that their loved ones will emerge alive.

Police have officially named the 29 miners trapped in the Pike River coal mine on the West Coast since Friday.

Pike River says equipment such as robots could create sparks in a gaseous environment.

Testing of gas levels in the Pike River mine continued overnight, but the mine is still deemed too dangerous for a rescue attempt to be mounted.

Rescuers are on standby to enter the Pike River coal mine to bring out their brothers, and will go in at the slightest opportunity.