Police have confirmed that five young males aged between 17 and 25 have died suddenly in Kaitaia in the past 12 weeks.
A spokeswoman said all were "sudden death incidents which we have attended, where our investigations lead us to believe the person has taken their own life".
"We pass our investigation findings to the Coroner, who will ultimately make a ruling as to how a death has occurred," she said.
The first death was in late May and the last one occurred this week.
Community leader Ricky Houghton of He Korowai Trust said earlier today that the five deaths reflected "a community in crisis".
