Plane down in Taranaki, say police

An aircraft has crashed east of Stratford in South Taranaki tonight, police are reporting.

The Maritime Safety Authority said a plane went missing off Christchurch air traffic control screens at about 10.20pm.

NZ Post confirmed to NZPA that one of its Metroliner aircraft was missing on a flight between Wellington and Auckland.

A Stratford police spokeswoman said police had received calls of a loud noise in the sky followed by the blast. The spokeswoman said the blast was reported to have shaken the ground.

"Everyone seems to have heard the blast but nobody saw any explosion", she said.