A teenager drowned swimming across an artificial lake after seeing his mates having fun on the other side.

The brother of a 15-year-old boy who drowned while rescuing a young girl off Auckland's west coast says he lives in his brother's footsteps.

Fishing enthusiasts keen to set nets at a popular, but dangerous, Auckland beach should be wearing lifejackets, a coroner says.

A person has drowned near Ruakaka Beach in Northland today.

An 18-year-old woman who was revived after she was found at the bottom of a Hamilton swimming pool died last night in hospital.

Waikato police are warning swimmers to "look before you leap", as an 18-year-old woman fights for her life after being found at the bottom of a motel pool.

The death of a 13-year-old girl after a boat capsized in rough weather in South Otago yesterday afternoon has left the community in shock.

Men and preschoolers are over-represented in our drowning toll, Water Safety NZ warns.

A police search yesterday failed to find 40-year-old Aucklander Peato Samele Ilalio, who is presumed drowned after he went missing while fishing from Kauri Point.

A 9-year-old Papamoa girl who dragged a young boy from the surf has shrugged off her hero status and says she was just doing what she has been trained to do.

Police say the 18-year-old man swept out to sea on Northland's west coast on Saturday was Patea Douglas Tane-Hohaia.

Police will continue the search for the body of a man who was swept out to sea with two other men in treacherous surf in Northland yesterday.

A haunting wail echoed across the Whakatane River as a grieving relative watched police bringing 13-year-old Lance Tikitere Fitzgerald's lifeless body to the surface.

Less than a week after injuring her shoulder taking down a man with a sawn-off shotgun, an off-duty policewoman dived into a river to save a girl from drowning.

A woman who died at a public pool in Wellington this morning has been identified as 49-year-old Motuiliu Groom.

Lifeguards and swimmers tried desperately to revive a woman who died after aqua-jogging at a public pool in Wellington this morning.

The wife of a man who died while checking his crayfish pots on Tuesday says her husband loved nothing more than his garden and fishing.

The body of a second fisherman who had been missing since a boat capsized off the Kaikoura coastline yesterday morning has been recovered.

The father and daughter who died in a tragic kayaking accident on Lake Tarawera yesterday have been named by police.

More details are emerging of a father's desperate attempts to save his young daughter before both died in a Rotorua lake yesterday.

An autistic boy who went missing yesterday has been found drowned in a swimming pool near his Feilding home.

A search has resumed for a New Zealand man who is feared drowned after he jumped into rough seas to save a friend off a beach near Melbourne.

A man and his nephew who drowned while trying to save a little girl were preparing for a big week of celebrations, including the young victim's eighth birthday.