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.

Michael James Burnby, 44, died in Christchurch Hospital from injuries he suffered in Saturday's smash, police said this afternoon.

Canterbury Police and Canterbury District Health Board are concerned at the emergence of 25B-NBOMe, described as a powerful synthetic hallucinogen.

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter has been called to transport the victims to hospital.

A chemical spill closed streets and caused hundreds of people to be evacuated in central Dunedin.

A child is dead after a crash on a rural highway near Tirau involving a car and a pedestrian.

A 50-year-old truck driver crushed by metal beams while unloading his vehicle at a Hamilton factory today is in a serious but stable condition.

Dozens of workers have been evacuated after a chemical spill at Dunedin's Cadbury factory early this afternoon.

The home that a primary school principal built for his family nearly 30 years ago burnt to the ground in a "tragic" blaze.

Police say they were searching for a car involved in a crash near Queenstown this morning because of complaints about erratic driving.

An officer activated their patrol car's flashing lights and siren, but the motorcyclist did not stop and sped away.

Murray Anthony Reid, 75, died after he was struck by a light truck at the intersection of SH2b and Meeanee Quay about 5pm yesterday.

A tourist staying in Hawkes Bay has been killed after he was hit by a truck at a notorious intersection in Napier last night.

Two men have died after a sudden turn in the weather caused waves to swamp their kayaks, tipping them into the icy cold water in Lake Tekapo this afternoon.

Firefighters have managed to successfully contain a large fire in the Auckland suburb of Glendene.

Team battle blustery winds, snow and ice to save an Australian couple from spending a night in freezing conditions in the central North Island.

Emergency services responded to the blaze at a large block of flats on Swanson Rd about 5.15pm.

Two policemen who saved a man from a burning flat are being hailed as lifesavers. One of the rescuers required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation.

Every couple of months, on average, Craig Watts brings someone back to life.

Police have confirmed the boy who was critically injured on Friday at an Invercargill school was struck in the head by an electric fence post.

A 10-year-old schoolboy is in an induced coma after a "tragic incident" at an Invercargill school yesterday.

Five fire crews and an ambulance attended a suspected chemical spill Auckland International Airport last night.

An elderly man may have died after getting "excited" by big flames during a farm burn-off in rural Canterbury last year, a coroner has heard.

Emergency services were called at 2.55 pm and found the driver dead in the truck on their arrival.

Emergency crews were called to the accident on State Highway 1 in Piarere shortly before 8.30pm.