Traffic has been at a standstill for hours on Auckland’s North Western Motorway after a crash this evening.

Three people killed in a collision with a logging truck yesterday have been confirmed as American citizens, police say.

Three people who died in a collision with a logging truck in south Waikato yesterday were not believed to have been wearing seatbelts at the time.

A woman cried "everything's gone" before collapsing as her family's home went up in flames yesterday.

As 85-year-old Stewart Rundle fell more than 30m down a rocky cliff behind his beachfront home he had one thing on his mind - survival.

Horse racing trainer Steve Anderton has died in hospital after a freak accident at the family stables near Mosgiel yesterday.

The death of a baby girl in Taranaki today may have been been a tragic accident caused by a falling household object.

Police are asking to speak to any witnesses of a crash that left one dead and six injured in the Western Bay of Plenty last night.

A man who crawled more than 20 metres up a road bridge arch over the Waikato River in Hamilton has been brought down safely and arrested.

An "immediate and large-scale response" has been credited with bringing a large grass fire in Marlborough under control.

A national emergency text service was affected by a technical outage today, police say.

Firefighters have managed to contain a large plantation fire north of Christchurch which at its peak saw the evacuation of 40 nearby homes.

Former Dunedin mayor Peter Chin is recovering in hospital after being revived by an Air New Zealand crew shortly after take-off, it has been confirmed.

A woman is dead after a car crashed into a pole on Auckland's southern motorway this morning, while a man died after crashing his motorbike on sand dunes at Port Waikato.

A passenger sitting in front of a man who suffered a suspected heart attack on a flight from Dunedin to Wellington this morning has praised the crew who resuscitated him.

A baby was feared to be among the victims as six people died and eight were injured when a rubbish truck careered out of control and into crowds of Christmas shoppers.

Two adults and two children are dead after a 'catastrophic' crash in Northland today, the result of a split-second error of judgement.

A 50-year-old woman was flown to Rotorua Hospital with serious injuries after a car crashed into a power pole yesterday at 5.45pm.

Up to $10,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on a rescue in Northland over the weekend for a group of Aucklanders "who were not in real danger", police say.

A fisherman who was swept 200m out to sea after he slipped and his waders filled up with water, had a lucky escape, says a man who helped get him on to dry land.

A far north Queensland community is grieving the death of an 18-year-old man who was attacked by a shark in front of shocked friends.

Critically injured Auckland patients have a better chance of survival on their way to the hospital with rescue helicopters in the city now carrying blood for emergency transfusions.

A 7-year-old boy died after being hit by a vehicle driven by his father, who couldn't see he was behind the ute because of a blind spot as he reversed down a driveway, a coroner has found.