A young couple with a baby have been trapped by a swollen river while tramping in the Canterbury high country.
The couple were camping near Flock Hill station, south-west of Arthur's Pass, when the swollen Broken River cut them off today.
A police spokesman said the rise in the river level was due to rain in the hills.
The family had been staying in a Department of Conservation hut, "so they were safe and dry and they had food".
Police were currently on their way to check on them.