Families of dead miners gather to remember 2010 disaster at Pike River.

Just after 3.44pm today a lone piper played a lament to mark the moment an explosion ripped through the Pike River Mine, claiming 29 lives.

Families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River mining disaster will today mark the second anniversary with a gathering that will include a minute's silence at 3.44pm.

It has been two years since the explosion that trapped and killed the 29 workers in the Pike River Mine. The families reflect on the fight they wish they didn't have to have.

The ramifications of an inquiry's findings into Pike River are potentially huge.

An international team of mine safety experts says the bodies of the 29 Pike River miners can be recovered.

Pike River is a Third World scandal we thought could never happen in a modern civilised country such as ours, writes Brian Rudman.

Kate Wilkinson has defended her decision not to stand down from all her ministerial portfolios after her department was heavily criticised by the Pike River inquiry.

International mine safety experts have today met families of Pike River victims to start formulating a new plan to enter the collapsed mine and recover the 29 bodies.

Rachelle Weaver sat through almost eight weeks of hearings, trying to work out why her partner, a father-to-be, died in Pike River in 2010.

Kate Wilkinson would have gained a lot more public respect had she resigned from the Cabinet altogether rather than just her Labour portfolio, writes John Armstrong.

Prime Minister John Key is squarely blaming the Pike River Coal Company for the disaster that killed 29 West Coast workers two years ago.

Prime Minister John Key has given a statement which formally apologises for Government regulatory failings which contributed to the deaths of 29 men in the Pike River mine disaster.

Kate Wilkinson has resigned as Labour Minister following today's release of the report on the Pike River tragedy.

The emergency response to the Pike River disaster was "cumbersome", lacked expertise and may have impeded a rescue.

Prime Minister John Key says New Zealanders can expect a sobering report into the explosion that killed 29 men at Pike River mine today.

An anxious wait for the families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River mining disaster will end today when the royal commission's report on the tragedy is released.

An Australian contractor which lost three staff members in the Pike River Mine disaster has been fined $46,800 after admitting breaches of the Health and Safety Act.

Pike River contractor Valley Longwall will be sentenced today for failing to ensure the safety of workers who died in explosions at the mine.

Former Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall will defend charges he failed to keep his miners safe but says he is sorry the tragedy ever occurred.