A pedestrian has life threatening injuries after he was struck by a van in South Auckland early today.

Crew members from the Westpac rescue helicopter are used to saving lives - but now it may be with their own blood.

Paying for lost tourist's phone data enabled teams to find him in deep fog, police say.

Mother of three suffered extensive injuries in a crash in northwest Auckland on Friday night.

A three-way car crash is causing commuter chaos in Wellington tonight as drivers face a long trip home.

Cardiac arrest patients cared for by New Zealand's largest ambulance provider have a markedly lower chance of surviving than those under the service covering Wellington and the Wairarapa.

Tributes have poured in for a worker who was killed in a bitumen explosion in rural Waikato yesterday.

A man is dead after a fuel tanker explosion at an earth-moving company this afternoon.

A recovery team works at Fox Glacier after the helicopter crash, which killed pilot Mitch Gameren and six others. Footage/Supplied

The police Eagle helicopter was sent to Little Shoal Bay after police received a call from ambulance around 5.30pm that the girls were in trouble.

Five of the 24 houses in the Waikakaho Valley have been evacuated by Police.

Initially it was thought a child was unaccounted for, but it was later confirmed all the kids from the house were safe.

A police spokesman said the accident had happened on Great South Road outside the Manukau Holiday park near Costar Place shortly after 12:30.

Rescue crews are again on standby today as bad weather continues to hamper the Fox Glacier helicopter crash recovery operation.

A woman has suffered "crush injuries" after being trapped under a car in Leigh this morning.

The blaze in Cameron Rd, Greerton, Tauranga, was now under investigation.

The woman potentially saved the lives of two flatmates by her actions after a mattress was set on fire by a hair dryer.

All firefighters including volunteers, career staff and brigades in urban and rural areas will be pulled together into a single national service.

A middle-aged man found in flames behind a Birkenhead restaurant was taken to Auckland Hospital in a serious condition last night.

Emergency services were last night called to a North Shore restaurant where a person is believed to have suffered serious burns.

A school boy has had spear removed from his leg after he accidentally shot himself while eeling.

Two people have been airlifted to Waikato Hospital after the vehicle they were travelling in at high-speed rolled.

A family had to flee a burning house in Hamilton this evening.

Police are currently at a house in Otara, guarding the scene, where a young man was seriously injured.

Battling severe winds, they managed to contact Kapiti Coastguard before separating from their boat.

A cyclist caught a glimpse of spectacular fire show in rural Auckland, early this morning, when a van overheated and burst into flames before his eyes.

The Auckland Rescue Helicopter was called to Whatipu, in the Waitakere Range on the west coast of Auckland, just before 7pm yesterday.

Canterbury dad says he's still lost for words after the shocking news his son Michael had been hospitalised in a critical condition.

A man is in hospital in a serious condition after a gas bottle explosion. St John ambulance South Island spokesman Ian Henderson said ambulance crews were called to the site at Maddisons Rd in Rolleston at 2.43pm.

Police today said Daniel Aretz, 37, died in the collision between his BMW G650 motorbike and a motorcyclist in a group travelling in the opposite direction.