Four bodies - believed to be from the same family - were last night recovered from the wreckage of a light aircraft near Wanaka.

Police have recovered four bodies from a light plane that crashed near Wanaka.

The family of a man whose body was found in the Waikato River last week claim he was the victim of "medical and bureaucratic malpractice".

A German tramper has been found following a search involving three ground teams yesterday.

A man who went for a "drunken dunk" in Mission Bay last night is extremely lucky another man searching for his Go Pro was able to assist in his rescue, police say.

A climber rescued after he got stuck on Mt Taranaki overnight was left at the summit by his mates.

A young English tourist is being praised for trying to save a Malaysian man who is believed drowned after jumping off the Tolaga Bay wharf on the East Coast.

A desperate plea by 15 bystanders for passing jetboats to rescue a 30-year-old struggling in the chilly waters of the Hokitika Gorge were ignored by the boaties.

Twenty people have rescued an American tourist from a West Coast cave after the woman suffered a suspected broken leg yesterday.

A search and rescue operation is underway near Queenstown after a German tourist failed to return a locator beacon by his "panic date".

As a stricken surfer clung to a cave roof while being buffeted by huge waves, Tai Kahn leaped from a helicopter into the churning seas to save the teen's life.

Divers have retrieved a black box from the crashed AirAsia flight from the bottom of the Java Sea, officials say.

The family of a 25-year-old man who went missing while snorkelling in Northland this afternoon are scouring the beach for any sign of him.

A former West Coast gold miner whose body was discovered at the bottom of a deep hole yesterday had disappeared previously.

A tramper who went missing in a remote and rugged part of the South Island is likely to have been swept away by strong currents before drowning in a gorge.

A temporary break in poor weather yesterday failed to help the search for wreckage from AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

The family of an Australian climber missing for four days on New Zealand's tallest mountain are coming to terms with fears he is probably dead.

An intoxicated man who walked into the sea at a Christchurch beach fully clothed this morning is missing and presumed drowned.

Family tells how their holiday sightseeing trip turned into rescue operation after spotting stricken men in the water: "You just think about trying to find the next person."

An Indonesian official last night said objects had been spotted in the sea by a search plane hunting for the missing AirAsia jet.

Police have named three people who have died in water-related accidents so far this holiday season.

Family members of a missing teenager were keeping an emotional vigil on a Northland beach last night - the latest incident in a horror start to the holiday season in the water.

An Auckland woman and a local man were rescued from a rip at Mt Maunganui.

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.