A 15-year-old girl has drowned after her paddleboard was swept under a boat by a strong current and wind at Whangamata this afternoon.

A witness who saw a light plane plummet into Lake Taupo this afternoon dived into the water to see if anyone was trapped in the "mangled" wreckage.

After a summer's day together exploring the Coromandel with boyfriend Jared Wilford, Ashleigh Dargusch decided she wanted to go for a swim.

A 58-year-old woman is being treated for a possible broken leg on Waiheke Island.

The death of a man found in a deep hole on the West Coast today is not believed to be related to this morning's earthquake in the region, police say.

A French woman is in a critical condition after a crash in Waikato yesterday in which six people were injured.

Three people were critically injured in two road crashes in the North Island last night.

A 23-year-old Australian tourist on a Kiwi Christmas holiday with her boyfriend and mates has died of head injuries after she fell at a Coromandel water hole.

'That's it for us.' A Canterbury family is calling it quits on rollercoasters forever after being trapped at the top of one at Rainbow's End yesterday.

A man who died in hospital nine days after being thrown from a ute in Raglan on Boxing Day has been named by police.

A report of a light plane crash at a Northland beach was a false alarm.

A logging truck driver suffered serious leg injuries when he fell from his truck this morning.

The holiday road toll has climbed to 16 after a passenger injured in a crash on Boxing Day died in hospital this morning.

An elderly Southland man who suffered burns to most of his body in a house fire on Friday night has died in hospital, police have said today.

Police say alcohol and speed are coming through as significant contributors to the holiday road.

New Zealand is being asked to introduce safety standards for blinds to stop children being hurt or even killed in the cords.

The family of a New Zealander who died trying to save a dive boat during a storm is travelling to the California island he called home.

A young man who died trying to jump from a light pole into a Gisborne swimming pool had spent the afternoon playing football and enjoying a few drinks with friends.

The search area was widened because surveillance planes could not see tiny fragments of wreckage in choppy waters. And families, once again, did not know how or why their loved ones died.

Airbus has rushed two specialists to Jakarta to assist in the investigation of the disappeared A320 airliner operated by AirAsia, the budget carrier that rose from almost nothing in 2001 to be its biggest customer.

A Chinese student who died in a Boxing Day smash in Southland has been named by police as the holiday road toll rises to seven.

Police are still looking for a boat which was swamped while crossing the Manukau Bar in Auckland this afternoon, causing the deaths of two people.

A fatal crash involving a car and truck on State Highway 1 between Amberley and Kaikoura in Canterbury has taken the Christmas road toll to seven.

A surfer who died at a beach on Boxing Day has been described as an "inspiration" to other divers in his dive club.

A second person involved in a collision with a tanker truck in Bay of Plenty yesterday has died, bringing to holiday road toll to six.

Jane Watts said last goodbyes to her severely injured husband five times and could only have dreamed she would spend another Christmas with him.