The incident occurred at Manawatu Prison. Two other staff were injured while disarming the prisoner.

Police are at Manawatu Prison this morning after a bomb scare at the men's jail.

Police are moving into the second phase of a homicide investigation after a man's body was found outside a Manawatu block of units yesterday.

A homicide investigation is underway in Manawatu following the discovery of a body outside a block of units this morning.

A crash involving three vehicles and a horse has left the animal dead and a car trapped under live electrical wires in Horowhenua last night.

The elderly man who died in a crash in Manawatu on Friday has been identified.

Motorists can take the alternative route on Saddle Rd or Pahiatua Track.

One person died and two others suffered serious injuries after a fiery two-vehicle crash in Manawatu yesterday.

After careering through a safety barrier, the driver of a truck chock full of animal blood remained moored in his cab for up to an hour as it dangled over a cliff.

Flooding caused road and bridge closures, cut power to homes and forced people to spend night in emergency accommodation or with friends and family.

Roads closed by extensive flooding and slips in the lower North Island are reopening tonight, but transport authorities are warning motorists to take care.

Police are searching for the owner of a kayak which was seen floating down the Manawatu River through the Gorge.

Motorists have been urged to avoid travelling along rural highways in Manawatu and Whanganui unless it is essential, as heavy rain continues to cause havoc.

A Palmerston North woman is reluctant to label herself a hero despite saving two young children from a burning car in a supermarket carpark.

A mysterious oil spill has caused black blobs and oil to appear along a 10km stretch of coastline.

Several sheep were killed in a fire that destroyed a woolshed in Manawatu this morning.

Over 250 people were trapped on a plane at a military airbase for hours, after wild weather and thunderstorms forced a landing.

Air New Zealand has confirmed it will operate its next $29 Night Rider service between Palmerston North and Auckland.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling large scrub blazes as dry weather has created tinderbox conditions across the country, the Fire Service says. Blazes in Canterbury, Marlborough and Manawatu are keeping about 330 firefighters busy.

"Can't think of a better way to spend a Thursday," says Jono Lester as I'm folded into the passenger seat of his Ferrari 458 GT3.

The body of a man who died at a Manawatu house has been removed and a post-mortem examination will be done tomorrow, police say.

Five people are facing a raft of drug charges in relation to the importation of nearly $500,000 worth of methamphetamine.

A grieving mother has been left devastated after discovering items from her son's grave have been stolen from Kelvin Grove Cemetery in Palmerston North.

A young woman suffered numerous injuries when she was pinned by a vehicle that crashed in Manawatu yesterday.

Two elderly women who were killed when a car lost control and crashed into a ditch in Manawatu early this morning have been named by police.

Two people are dead and four are injured after their vehicle lost control and ended up in a ditch in Manawatu overnight.

A 15-year-old boy led police on a 50km chase through Manawatu in a stolen vehicle yesterday, police say.

An 18-year-old woman who was thrown 15 metres in a crash in Apiti on Friday died in hospital.

A young woman was thrown 15 metres from a vehicle following a crash in the Manawatu region early today.