Rescue workers, who have one of their own trapped in the Pike River coal mine, hope a hole being drilled in the mine tonight will reveal air samples allowing them to enter the mine.

It's been revealed a member of the mine rescue team is among those trapped. Officials say gas levels inside the mine are falling, but unstable.

Praying for a miracle, hundreds attended church services in Greymouth on Sunday morning.

There is a growing sense of despair among the families of the 29 miners who have been trapped at Pike River since Friday.

The hole being drilled by Pike River mine rescuers could allow the miners to communicate with people on the surface.

Families of the 29 men trapped in the Pike River coal mine near Greymouth on the West Coast are being taken to the site.

While residents gather and families worry, hospital staff and funeral directors prepare themselves for all scenarios.

A second night passes with no word from the 29 trapped miners in the Pike River mine. Families cling to hope as experts fear the worst.

International mining experts have raised concerns about safety issues at Pike River Coal which may have led to the explosion.

There will be no attempt to rescue 29 miners trapped in a West Coast mine tonight, with no further air quality sampling until tomorrow.

West Coasters went about their business today hoping for the best but painfully aware of the grim record of tragedies in mining.

Police say a bid to rescue or recover 29 miners trapped in a West Coast coal mine is on hold, and could begin at any time over the next two days.

29 miners remain trapped underground after yesterday's blast at Pike River Coal's West Coat mine.

The Herald's energy reporter, who has visited Pike River, reflects on the project's delays, and now disaster.

Cabinet ministers were last night travelling to the Pike River Mine, as the Government offered assistance in the rescue of the trapped miners.

Methane gas has long been identified as a potential problem for the Pike River Coal mine, as rescuers scramble to find up to 27 missing miners.

Moose were released in Westland in 1900 and in Fiordland in 1910 but unlike other such introductions they were not a success.

A plane that crashed near Fox Glacier, killing nine, is believed to have been over its maximum allowable weight and off-balance.

A West Coast driver who fell asleep and killed a cyclist faces a much longer self-imposed sentence than the community detention handed down, says her lawyer.