Family and friends have farewelled a 16-year-old boy who was swept out to sea at Ninety Mile Beach on December 27, remembering him as their 'miracle boy'.

An 11-year-old boy who died after being caught in a rip at a Northland beach yesterday has been named.

A man who "sacrificed his own life" to save his two daughters and a 7-year-old niece from drowning is being hailed a hero by his whanau.

An intoxicated man who walked into the sea at a Christchurch beach fully clothed this morning is missing and presumed drowned.

Police have named three people who have died in water-related accidents so far this holiday season.

Family members of a missing teenager were keeping an emotional vigil on a Northland beach last night - the latest incident in a horror start to the holiday season in the water.

A man who died at a south Auckland beach yesterday was trying out a new surf board he received as a Christmas present.

Family members arriving at a Christmas Day get-together found police cars outside the home after a little relative drowned in a swimming pool set up in the backyard.

A 1-year-old child has drowned in a temporary backyard pool at a residential address in Manurewa today.

The toddler who drowned in a shallow pond on a farm near Westport has been named. She was 21-month-old Anamiek Manshande.

Police are investigating the circumstances around how a 21-month-old toddler drowned in a shallow pond that was fenced off.

A 21-month-old girl was playing outside her Westport home before she died after falling into a farm pond yesterday, police said.

The heroic actions of a teen who swam to shore to raise the alarm during a family fishing tragedy were last night lauded by her relatives.

Charges laid against four people over the death of an Ashburton man in June have been upgraded to manslaughter.

Police are trying to establish whether there were more than one person involved in the death of Arran Gairns.

A Wellington woman will appear in Timaru District Court today charged with assaulting a man who was later found dead in an Ashburton industrial area.

Two Kaikoura men who drowned while collecting crayfish pots last December were not wearing working lifejackets, a coroner has determined.

A South Korean man has drowned after diving into a popular river rockslide pool to save two children.

The parents of the German teenagers presumed drowned in Foveaux Strait are returning home and say they know they are leaving their daughters behind.

The partner of a man who drowned at a beach known for its unpredictable conditions says a local motel owner told the family it was safe, new coroner's findings reveal.

Kiwis trying to save someone else made up half the people who drowned over summer - 'would-be' rescuers who perished while the person they tried to save survived.

More people drowned this summer than last, and would-be rescuers featured prominently in the toll.