The 65-year-old man who died following an industrial accident near the Homer Tunnel in Fiordland this afternoon was clearing a slip at the time, police say.

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after a over-heated chip heater exploded and destroyed the kitchen of a family home in Papamoa last night.

The Christchurch family of a man fatally stabbed in Hastings rushed to be by his side before the end, but were too late to say goodbye.

The Tauranga Hospital carpark was transformed into an emergency decontamination zone after a man came into fatal contact with a toxic herbicide.

A 22-year-old man who died in hospital after being stabbed at a Hastings party house is believed to have become engaged on Friday to his alleged attacker.

Ambulances will no longer be sent to minor 111 calls as part of sweeping changes to help stem St John's $15 million-a-year loss.