West Coasters are known for their fighting spirit, which has been tested to the extreme this weekend.

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.

He avoided yesterday's Pike River blast by minutes - now a miner waits for news of trapped workmates.

Rescue crews will face a number of challenges as they work towards accessing the area where 29 coal miners are believed to be trapped.

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.

Westport teenager Renee McNelis has been killed in a quad bike accident only a fortnight after her best friend Harmony Wihongi died in a car crash.

A severe weather warning has been issued as heavy rain and gales are expected to hit areas across the country.