Teenagers, dog rescued

Three teenagers and a dog were last night rescued after spending almost three hours on the roof of their car in the middle of a rushing river.

Two 17-year-old females, an 18-year-old male and their dog became stranded in the swollen South Canterbury Opihi River when their four-wheel-drive became stuck after attempting to cross it.

After attempts to reach the shore failed, they managed to climb on to the roof of the vehicle, where they phoned for help about 6pm. Because they could not describe their exact position, police found them about two hours later, but were unable to get to them because of rushing water.

A passing rescue helicopter plucked the teenagers and their dog to safety shortly after 8pm. They were taken to hospital and treated for hypothermia.

Timaru sergeant Mylen Hamilton said the teenagers were very lucky not to have suffered more serious injuries.

"They'd been on the roof for almost three hours. It took us ages to find them because it was dark and it [the river] was absolutely flooded."