The drowning death toll will rise if school swimming lessons aren't made compulsory, the Government has been warned.

A teenage jetskier was killed yesterday when he fell off and was run down by friends. It was one of two horrifying water accidents involving young people in popular holiday spots.

Two boys have been injured after a collision between two boats off Pauanui overnight.

They may not be able to exchange wedding rings, but a couple who survived a four-car smash will be united forever by matching scars.

The vast majority of the royal commission of inquiry hearings into the Pike River tragedy will be held in Greymouth, the commission says.

Alcohol and speed appear to have been factors in a crash which left two people critically injured on Auckland's North Shore today, police say.

The "vast majority" of the Pike River Royal Commission of Inquiry hearings into the tragedy which claimed the lives of 29 men will be held in Greymouth, the commission says.

After 54 hours in the open, missing 90-year-old June Wickman was found alive by her grandsons yesterday, amazing rescuers.

A 10-year-old Hamilton girl has died after cycling down a flight of stairs. The girl had been cycling to the dairy with her aunty and cousin when the accident happened.

The tragic death of a Nelson teenager this week serves as a warning of the risks of suffering from shallow water blackout when holding your breath underwater, a water safety expert says.

A man who allegedly posed as a Pike River miner to steal from a family who befriended him was remanded in custody when he appeared in court today.

Police are on the lookout for a man who posed as a Pike River miner to steal from a family who befriended him on Christmas Eve.

He was playing a game that will be familiar to many from childhood. But when Sam Goodenough's turn came to try to hold his breath the longest underwater, the game turned to tragedy, when the16-year-old blacked out and failed to surface.

The woman who was discovered seriously injured in Christchurch early today says she believes she was intentionally mown down by a driver.

Families of the 29 men killed in the Pike River Coal mine tragedy have publicly thanked everyone involved in the rescue and recovery operation.

More signs will be installed at Rotorua's Kuirau Park as a safety measure following the death of a 10-year-old boy last week.

Roads and vehicles must be "more forgiving" to curb a road toll which averages more than one death a day, the AA says. Figures released by the Ministry of Transport today show 371 people died on the roads over the past year.