The man charged with overseeing the Pike River mine smelled diesel or exhaust in the air about the time it was hit with an explosion that killed 29 men.

The 29 workers who died in the Pike River disaster would have died within minutes of the original explosion at the West Coast coal mine, a coronial hearing in Greymouth has heard.

The Pike River mine tragedy would not have happened if NZ had maintained a mining inspector programme canned more than a decade ago, a mining expert says. He says families are right to be furious at the Govt for interfering in mine safety.

John Key has defended police in the wake of a damning report and a much criticised decision to end recovery efforts at Pike River Coal mine.

The father of a miner who died at Pike River has accused police and the Government of withholding information that shows bodies may be recovered intact from the explosion-hit coal mine.

A proposed Pike River mine stabilisation plan doesn't allow for the recovery of the miners and won’t guarantee the future of the mine.

Labour leader Phil Goff has accused John Key of "passing the buck" on whether to permanently seal the Pike River coal mine. Receivers have been given until 5pm today to come up with a plan for stabilising the mine.

Sealing the Pike River mine could see vital evidence lost, the lawyer for the families of those killed says.

A police staff member wound up in a spat with Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn after finding him "wired" with a television recording device.

A spokesman for the Pike River miners' families says the Prime Minister has been getting false information from the wrong people, and a decision to halt the recovery effort was rushed.

The EPMU says sealing the Pike River mine would prevent investigators from learning what really happened.

The Pike River mine will be sealed and there is little or no chance of the bodies of 29 men killed being recovered in the near future, says Prime Minister John Key. He said it was "not an issue of money or time or commitment."

Closing the Pike River coal mine and handing the land back to the government is the worst-case scenario, according to the company's receiver.

The Pike River Mine will be handed back to the company's receivers, Police Commissioner Howard Broad announced yesterday.

Police Commissioner Howard Broad has announced police are all but giving up hope of recovering the remains of the 29 Pike River miners.

The heads of police and the Department of Conservation will deliver news in person today to the families of the 29 dead workers in the Pike River mine.

Rising gas levels have again stopped workers trying to recover the bodies of 29 men trapped inside the Pike River Coal mine today.

The vast majority of the royal commission of inquiry hearings into the Pike River tragedy will be held in Greymouth, the commission says.

Attempts will be made this weekend to seal cracks around the ventilation shaft at the Pike River Coal mine and stop gases leaking out - a critical step in the process towards stabilising the mine.

The "vast majority" of the Pike River Royal Commission of Inquiry hearings into the tragedy which claimed the lives of 29 men will be held in Greymouth, the commission says.