Pike River Coal says all its staff are being kept on full pay, with some being reassigned to jobs including helping out at the mine site

Levels of dangerous gases at the Pike River mine are still high and rescuers are unable to enter to recover the bodies of 29 trapped men, police said this afternoon.

A mining expert explains how to 'gag' a mine to make it safe for bodies to be recovered and gives his view on the second 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.

Photos of mourners from around New Zealand after the deaths of the 29 Pike River miners.

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

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

A series of high-level inquiries will be held into the Pike River mine tragedy as the families of the miners demand answers.

The Pike River CEO had to give the worst news possible to families who had looked to him for hope.

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.

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.

It was Pike River CEO Peter Whittall who broke the news to the miners' families this afternoon, that their worst fears had been realised.

Families of the 29 Pike River mine victims who perished in today's second blast fell to the floor screaming and were in "absolute despair", when they were told the news.

We take a chronological look at how events unfolded at the Pike River mine on one of the most tragic days in NZ history.