Search and rescue team members on the shore of Lake Tarawera. Photo / Christine Cornege
Police have recovered the bodies of an Auckland holidaymaker and his young daughter after they disappeared while kayaking on Lake Tarawera at Rotorua this morning.
Emergency services were called after people in the area heard screams just after 11am.
The 40-year-old man and his 6-year-old daughter were together in a single kayak.
Police said it was not clear at this stage what happened but the kayak was seen upturned on the water and the pair disappeared under the water and didn't resurface.
Locals and holidaymakers joined emergency service personnel and Coastguard in the search for the pair and an air search was also carried out by the Bay Trust Rescue helicopter.
Local divers had also gone into the water to help search.
The kayak, a paddle and an adult life-jacket were recovered earlier.
It was understood the child was wearing the adult life-jacket and the father was not believed to have been wearing one.
A Daily Post reporter at the scene said lake conditions were calm.
Audrey Wilson had repeated falls, a fractured arm and sepsis. She died in hospital.