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.

As a trained firefighter, Buddy Harwood is no stranger to saving lives.

A Chinese tourist who killed a friend in a rental car crash last week is “bereft” over the incident, a court has been told.

Fire crews are fighting a "well involved" house fire in Stanmore Bay on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, north of Auckland.

A female motorcyclist who crashed on the Southern Motorway yesterday has died in hospital this morning.

Three motorbike crashes on the country's roads this weekend have left five people hospitalised.

An Otago man on a suspended licence continued driving a car as it fell apart around him, only stopping when the engine finally gave up.

A car driven by tourists was seen on the wrong side of the road shortly before it crashed on the West Coast of the South Island yesterday, killing one.

Smoke alarms are not most people's idea of a Christmas present, but the Fire Service wants us to think about them anyway.

Ten Kiwis have died in house fires this year where working smoke alarms hadn't been installed.

Stocky 45-year-old man was charged with male assaults female and assaulting with intent to injure.

Three people killed in a horror smash in Central Otago this afternoon were all foreign nationals, police say.

A man police were seeking following a death at a rural West Auckland address last night has been found in Wanganui.