An instructor at an Auckland pool and leisure centre has been rushed to hospital in a critical condition following a medical emergency this evening.

A teenager who died while swimming at a popular Auckland waterfall has been remembered.

Suzy Fewtrell screamed when she saw her husband floating face-down in the water after being caught in a "freak wave".

A woman has died in a suspected drowning at a marina south of Whangarei.

Neighbours have described the moment a search turned to tragedy when a 1-year-old boy was found drowned last night.

Water safety experts are begging young men to stop overestimating their abilities or underestimating conditions after a deadly day on New Zealand's waters.

A young man who died after jumping from a bridge in Raglan has been remembered as a talented sportsman and "nicest kid".

A man has drowned in the Kaituna River, and a teen has died after jumping off a bridge in Raglan. The man who jumped onto the teen fled afterwards.

A 20-year-old man has drowned while swimming at the popular Charlies Rock waterhole in Kerikeri.

A 7-year-old who nearly drowned at Palm Springs Thermal Pool north of Auckland yesterday is in a critical condition again.

The number of people who died in water over the recent holiday break has matched last year's grim toll of 10, worsening average Christmas drowning statistics.

A candlelight vigil has been held at Castlecliff Beach for teenager Jordan James Marshall who drowned there on Christmas Day.

A man had a close call in the water near Mangere Bridge, Auckland, this afternoon.

The toddler who drowned on Christmas Day had been missing for more than an hour before friends and family noticed he was gone, according to reports.

An 82-year-old has drowned in the Bay of Islands today - at least the fourth drowning in this holiday period.

And five of them will be men.

A Christchurch Alzheimer's patient seen "behaving strangely" a day before his body was found floating in a river mouth had drowned accidentally, a coroner has concluded.

The NZ host family of a 16-year-old Korean student who died while swimming on Saturday wept in the arms of the boy's relatives at the scene yesterday.

The police dive quad has arrived in Tauranga to help in the search for an Indian man who went missing while swimming at a popular Tauranga lake.

Two heroes jumped into a swollen North Island river to save the life of a woman swept away.

A 13-year-old girl who died after drowning in a Southland bay wasn't wearing an appropriate lifejacket, a coroner has found.

A man who drowned after being thrown from a boat on the Waitara River mouth in Taranaki yesterday has been named by police.

A toddler who drowned in a pond on a rural property near Otaki was the son of a former Central Pulse netball player.

A woman has been found dead in a swimming pool on Auckland’s North Shore last night.

A former Major League pitcher visits Greymouth to find out what happened on a rafting trip 17 years ago.

The search for two fishermen missing at Port Waikato enters its third day today. The police Eagle helicopter will search the area near the mouth of the river.

Little Hunter McGillivray, 2, suffered a near-drowning on Thursday and is now fighting for his life in hospital.

Those close to a drowning man who was pulled from Wellington Harbour last week say they are still mystified as to why their friend was in the water.

A teenage hero who helped to rescue a drowning man is devastated she will never get to meet the student she saved.