The Air Force says crew on a new helicopter rescued a missing tramper on the chopper's debut mission.

Police and volunteer search and rescue teams are looking for a missing 21 year-old tramper.

Rescuers from outside Aoraki Mt Cook had to be brought in to recover the body of a mountaineer, who was himself a rescuer based at Mt Cook village.

The body of a man who drowned at McLaren Falls in the Bay of Plenty yesterday has been recovered.

A search is underway after a French tourist went missing on a mountain hike in Arthur's Pass National Park.

The search and recovery effort for an experienced climber who died on the country’s highest mountain has resumed this morning.

An Auckland man who drowned while having a swim yesterday was remembered as being a "very happy and jolly guy" by his heartbroken friend last night.

Early on Saturday morning, American Osprey aircraft whirred over the Yemeni coast from the Gulf of Aden, flying above the rugged mountains of Shabwe province.

A person is missing after falling from a bridge, sparking a search effort in the Waitemata Harbour this morning.

A 19-year-old woman who spent a "helpless and hopeless" night stranded on Mt Ngauruhoe wearing a hoodie and yoga pants, says she will never go tramping again.

A team of search and rescue specialists and police were "preparing for the worst" while searching for a woman who spent a night 1500m up Mt Ngauruhoe.

A woman survived a freezing night 1500m up Mt Ngauruhoe after she became separated from her group and climbed the wrong mountain.

An engineering student has designed and built a remote-control robotic snake which he hopes can be used for search and rescue missions.

Authorities searching for fisherman Nick Stubbs were yesterday still unable to find any trace of him.

A 16-year-old boy whose family was thrown into rough seas on a fatal boat trip scrambled to shore, clambered up a 30-metre cliff face and hiked 2km to get help.

A missing diabetic Mount Maunganui man drew on all his survival instincts after suffering a head injury after he fell down a ridge while hunting on the East Cape.

A piece of paper caught in a tree led searchers to the wreckage of a missing helicopter and the body of pilot Damian Webster in Kahurangi National Park.

A series of poor decisions and missed opportunities may have contributed to the deaths of two climbers after they spent two freezing nights stuck near the summit of Mt Taranaki.

The body of a 65-year-old cyclist has been recovered from a bank near an Otago cycle track today.

Wayne Redman clung to the upturned hull of his boat for hours in icy-cold water fearing he might not survive.