Mystery continues to surround the death of a young man whose body was found on Ninety Mile Beach in 2011, an inquest heard today.

A man has drowned after being swept away while fishing in Raglan overnight.

A father has been convicted and discharged for failing to look after his daughter in dangerous surf - after a teenage hero drowned trying to save her.

Victor Hemi Pikari, 56, of Waltham, Christchurch, died while swimming at the Pioneer Recreation and Sport Centre in Lyttelton Street, Somerfield.

A seaside holiday turned to tragedy for a New Zealand woman who drowned after saving her fiance when he slipped off rocks at a West Australian beach.

A man is in critical condition after being revived following a near-drowning in Northland this afternoon.

One of the sunniest summers in more than 50 years saw almost 600 extra people rescued from NZ beaches during the patrol season compared to the year before.

An Auckland man drowned after trying to save his young grandchildren from a rip at an "unforgiving" stretch of Ninety Mile Beach despite a rescuer's desperate attempt to bring him ashore.

A man who died at Piha beach on Tuesday was a British tourist believed to be holidaying in New Zealand with his family.

A 30-year-old man, believed to be on a family holiday, drowned at Piha beach this evening.

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 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.

Heartfelt messages from friends are reaching out to a grieving expatriate Kiwi man whose son fell into a freezing pond while feeding ducks with his gran.

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.