Thirty-one people drowned in New Zealand during the official summer period - about one every three days.

A soldier who died after falling into a Waiouru lake during a training exercise should have been able to release a 20kg gun easily, the former Chief of Army says.

A 17-year-old boy has drowned at Kai Iwi Lakes near Dargaville despite desperate attempts by his three young friends to revive him.

The difficulties in getting foreign vessels to adhere to NZ standards before going out to sea has been highlighted by a coroner's report into the sinking of Oyang 70.

A man is in a critical condition after a near drowning in Whangamata, on the southeast coast of the Coromandel Peninsula.

The three young men caught in a "strong unforgiving rip" on Auckland's notorious Piha Beach were wearing jeans and totally unaware of the danger they were in.

Two men have drowned in the surf at Piha Beach and a third man rescued from the water is in a serious condition.

A Mount Maunganui man was shocked by the actions of motorists who ignored his desperate attempts to flag them down after a woman was pulled lifeless from the surf.

A New Zealand woman who had been living in Norway drowned at Mt Maunganui beach last night after swimming with a group of family and friends.

Searchers will spend the next two days scouring the shoreline near Bowentown after a man went missing when his boat capsized off the Bay of Plenty coast.

Two boaties have spoken about the moment they came across a family who survived a capsizing that left a father missing off the Bay of Plenty coast.

A Waihi beach fisherman has told of how he found an upside-down boat at Bowentown Heads last night, shortly before a search was mounted for a missing man.

A teenage mum has been charged with hurting her baby by holding his head under water.

Lisa Hayward wants a family friend who plucked her son Zac from a deadly rip to be recognised for his bravery.

New Zealand had its lowest drowning death toll in six years last year - but the number of power boating-related drownings is increasing.

A fisherman who died after being swept down the Motu River has been identified as 41-year-old Benjamin Robert Tekira from Waimana, near Whakatane.

The body of a 41-year-old man was found last night after he was swept away while trying to cross an East Coast river earlier in the day.

The body of a man has been found, hours after he was swept away at the Motu rivermouth near Whakatane today.

New Zealand's most treacherous beach, Hot Water Beach, is already on its way to racking up another high rescue count in 2013.

A 27-year-old Feilding man who drowned while swimming with friends at Himatangi Beach was believed to be swimming outside the flags.

Placid east coast beaches are keeping surf life savers busy as complacent crowds flock to the white sandy coast.

The Coastguard is warning boaties to check conditions after gusting winds caused a spate of accidents on the Hauraki Gulf yesterday. Many of the incidents involved smaller boats which were unable to handle high winds and rough seas.

A police office's dramatic rescue of two boys and a man stuck in a rip at a Bay of Plenty beach is a reminder for water users to be aware of the dangers, police say.

Police have released the name of the woman who died reportedly trying to save her son at an Eastern Bay beach.