There are fresh hopes firefighters will soon be able to cap a key ventilation shaft at the Pike River mine, after the disappearance of flames from the vent.

Pike River has rejected claims management was not approachable for staff with safety concerns before the November 19 blast.

Firefighters were last night battling to cool the extremely hot concrete pad around the Pike River mine vent shaft.

An operation has begun to extinguish the fire coming from the vent shaft of the Pike River mine and cool the surrounding concrete pad, using water pumped up from a nearby creek.

Balloons replaced candles as the birthday of one of the Pike River Mine 29 was celebrated yesterday in the first individual memorial service.

A Santa parade in Greymouth today brought some much needed cheer to the community.

It could take weeks for a GAG unit to put out a coal fire in the Pike River mine, police say.

Tables representing the 29 Pike River workers were a focal point for 11,000 mourners yesterday.

The strength of the West Coast community will help it overcome its collective grief over the deaths of the 29 men who died in the Pike River mine tragedy, Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand said today at the memorial service in Greymouth.

A summary of the words spoken by West Coast locals and dignitaries at this afternoon's Pike River memorial service.

John Key today delivered a personal message to the mothers whose children have been left fatherless as a result of the Pike River mine tragedy. His was one of several moving tributes at today's Remembrance Service.

"Our lives changed forever" when the Pike River Mine exploded, the mining company chief executive told mourners today.

West Coast poet Helen Wilson has offered an emotional tribute to the men who lost their lives in the Pike River mine.

Much of NZ will come to a standstill today as the victims of the Pike River tragedy are remembered.

2010 can only described as an annus calamitosus [disastrous year] for the New Zealand family.

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.

An Australian-based online mining journal today called for NZ police to be blocked from controlling mine rescues.

Prime Minister John Key has asked all New Zealanders to observe two minutes’ silence at 2pm tomorrow to remember the 29 men who lost their lives as the Pike River Official Remembrance Service begins in Greymouth.

In the wake of the Pike River tragedy, PhD student Jesse Dykstra blogs on the mining industry and the associated risks

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.

The chief executive of Pike River mine says the families of the 29 victims of the disaster are coming to terms with the fact they may not get their loved ones back, as recovery efforts continue to be hindered.

Volunteers have been working "frantically" to prepare for Thursday's remembrance service to honour the 29 men who lost their lives in the Pike River Coal mine