A helicopter carrying two people has crashed in Fiordland.

The families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River mine disaster will each receive a minimum of $190,000 from the Pike River Disaster Relief Trust.

Wellington's East by West ferry will run restricted services today after one of its ferries was hit by a large wave yesterday morning.

A student who moved to Wellington to escape earthquake devastation in Christchurch was among those trapped in a ferry as it was struck by wild seas this morning.

The East by West Dominion Post ferry was hit by huge waves in Wellington Harbour where students and crew became trapped.

Commuters on a ferry have been rescued in Wellington Harbour this morning, after a large wave was believed to have knocked one person overboard in Worser Bay.

There are unconfirmed reports a car which crashed near Foxton yesterday killing two people may have earlier been racing another vehicle.

Police have named two people killed in a Waikato crash yesterday and are warning the public not to interfere with accident scenes.

As Louise Reichenbach lay trapped and dying in a crashed car yesterday, she asked friends to tell her younger sister Tammy she was sorry for a fight they had had the previous day and that she "loved her very much".

A horror head-on collision near Karapiro yesterday afternoon left two people dead in a car which was crushed against a bank.