Rafting chill for tourists

Two Australian tourists suffered hypothermia after being flung from a raft on the Rangitikei River yesterday.

A spokesman for The Square Trust rescue helicopter said the accident happened about 5km northeast of River Valley Lodge, east of Taihape.

A woman in her early 30s and a man in his late teens, who were on a school field trip, were sucked under water in some rapids. They were both flown to Palmerston North Hospital.