The wheels on the duck go round and ... off

Six tourists have been taken to Rotorua Hospital after a wheel fell off a Rotorua Duck Tours vehicle.

Two women had to be taken on stretchers from the amphibious landing craft to an ambulance, one suffering a painful pelvis and another with back pain. Four others, three men and a woman, suffered minor injuries, including cuts and bruises.

None of the injuries were considered serious.

All tourists were retirement age and were from various places including Australia, America, England and New Zealand.

Rotorua Duck Tours director Peter Weir said the company had been operating for three years and had transported about 20,000 people without incident.

He said both its vehicles were rigorously maintained to Land Transport New Zealand and Marine Safety Authority standards.

"As operators with an immaculate safety record we are very concerned that this incident has occurred as we pride ourselves on the quality of our service and our excellent safety record.

"It will be thoroughly investigated to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Rotorua police Constable Russell Lowe said the driver heard a loud bang while travelling on Te Ngae Rd, just before 5pm, at the start of the tour.

The driver thought a tyre had blown and pulled over to the left.

The wheel on the left-hand side of the tandem axle then came loose and went under the back right wheel, causing the right rear of the vehicle to tip up suddenly.

The vehicle had then crashed down on its left-hand side.

"The driver thought it was going to tip right over," Mr Lowe said.

He said passengers were not required to wear seatbelts and there were no seatbelts in the vehicle. Police would investigate the crash and decide whether charges were appropriate.

Rotorua Duck Tours takes passengers on a 90-minute tour of Rotorua sights, including on three Rotorua lakes. Its vehicles are original six-wheel-drive World War II amphibious landing craft used in the Normandy D-Day landing.