An 8-year-old boy suffered horrific burns after falling into a geothermal hot pool in Rotorua.

Drivers appear to be taking more care on the roads over the Christmas period, with police noting a reduction in road crashes this year.

A multi-vehicle pile up in Hawkes Bay has put 10 people in hospital, three with critical injuries, say police. Two tourists, one German and one Italian, are among those injured.

A 20-year-old man remains in a serious condition in Waikato Hospital's intensive care unit after a crash in the Waikato last night.

A kiteboarder killed in front of his wife in a Christmas holiday tragedy was lifted 20 metres in the air by a gust of wind - and flung to his death more than a kilometre away.

Police are setting a new trap for speeding drivers who slam on their brakes at the last minute for roadside speed cameras. The point-to-point cameras record the time a car takes to travel between two points.

Kiwi's lax attitude to getting our travel jabs may be killing us.

The family of a father-of-two hit by a car yesterday are grieving for 'a wonderful family man'.

Police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run in Manukau early today, which took the holiday road toll to two.

A six-year-old has permanent vision loss after being shot in the eye with a toy gun.

The bodies of five seaman and the 20 survivors from the sinking of a Korean fishing boat in the Southern Ocean arrived in Bluff last night.

Payouts will be made to the contracting companies that employed the men who died in the massive explosions at the Pike River coal mine, receivers announced today.

The family of Ben Rockhouse, who died in the Pike mine, have praised the 'selflessness and generosity' of the people of NZ.

A senior policewoman was seriously hurt in a head-on smash yesterday.

One of NZ's most experienced road policing officers has resigned, saying the job is taking too great a toll on his health.