Pike River timeline: From the first explosion to the re-entry

After more than eight years, the Pike River mine will finally be breached as a team re-enters for the first time since the fatal explosions.

Twenty-nine men were killed during a series of explosions at the coal mine in November 2010.

A later Royal Commission of Inquiry found the miners were exposed to "unacceptable risk", prompting wide-spread health and safety reforms.

While the National Government at the time refused to re-enter the mine, due to safety concerns, the current Government vowed to go back in.

On Tuesday, that will finally happen.

Here's how it all unfolded over the years.

November 19, 2010

3:44pm A explosion blasts through Pike River mine
4:10pm: Those outside the mine lose contact with the afternoon shift, according to CEO Peter Whittall
5:51pm: The first two miners emerge. Three others are thought to be on their way up as well

8:17am: Whittall confirms 29 people are stuck below ground
Police area commander Gary Knowles vows to "bring the boys home"
7:35pm: Poor air quality forces the rescue to be delayed
The decision is made to wait until the morning

8:30am: Underground heating is generating poisonous gases. Still no word on when the rescue will take place

"I'm not going to put 16 guys underground and risk losing them to a half-arsed rescue" - Gary Knowles, police area commander

5:30pm: Police tell media they're preparing for the "potential loss of human life"
Photos of the trapped miners are released publicly for the first time

9:20am: The rescue robot breaks down after encountering water, to the families' fury

"The longer it goes on, hopes fade and we have to be realistic" - police statement

2:37pm: A devastating second explosion rips through the mine
All men are thought to have been killed

"A national tragedy" - John Key, Prime Minister

3:39pm: A third explosion rocks the mine, ending all remaining hopes of recovering the men's bodies

The Royal Commission finds the miners were exposed to "unacceptable risk" by their bosses
A raft of sweeping changes are recommended to health and safety laws

"Mining should have stopped until the risks could be properly managed" - Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters vows to re-enter the condemned mine if elected
He promises it will be a "bottom line" to any possible coalition deals

A cross-party agreement pledges to re-enter the Pike River mine if elected to Government
Labour, the Green Party, the Māori Party and United Future signed the agreement

"The fight that we thought was over a few years ago has now re-ignited" - Anna Osborne, widow

Bernie Monk, whose son perished in the disaster, re-enters the mine's drift for the first time
Newshub's Patrick Gower enters with him, the first journalist to do so

Minister for Pike River Recovery Andrew Little announces a team will re-enter the mine in February, 2019
Work begins to ready the mine for re-entry

After delays, the first three members of the re-entry team are set to enter the mine on May 3
12:45pm: Recovery Minister Andrew Little announces the re-entry is delayed due to unexpected air quality readings

"Safety has always been our first priority, and will continue to be" - Andrew Little, Minister for Pike River Recovery

Plagued by delays and difficulties, the first party is finally set to re-enter the mine for the first time since the disaster

Newshub.