The father of a 12-year-old boy who was swept out to sea in heavy surf in Napier has thanked rescuers for forming a human chain that saved his son's life.

The body of a missing pilot has been found after a helicopter crash near Turangi yesterday.

A Napier couple, who got into trouble when strong winds pushed their boat near rocks on Lake Taupo, were rescued by helicopter overnight.

Two teenagers have been commended by police for their desperate efforts to save their friend after he failed to surface while swimming in the Waikato River.

A tramper has had to be airlifted out of Nelson Lakes National Park near Murchison after falling down a bank.

Swift-water rescue teams saved 16 children after their bus was trapped by flash flooding in southern Brisbane in a huge storm dumping heavy rain on southeast Queensland.

A man who fell several metres into the rough sea while fishing from rocks in Wairarapa today was rescued by a local fishing boat.

Martin lies in agony, his clavicle broken and three fingers mangled beyond recognition. He has no idea what is about to happen.

Waiheke Island residents have rallied to help the Auckland rescue helicopter service which made 265 trips there last year and needs an all-weather landing pad.

A fisherman roped himself to a buoy in Tauranga Harbour after his kayak was swamped with water.

A man whose brother and father have been found alive almost 24 hours after going missing on a fishing trip says he feared he would never see them again.

A tramper who apparently activated a personal locator beacon because he was running late and wanted a ride to his car has been slammed for wasting time and money.

The brother of an instructor who died after being swept off Taranaki's Paritutu Rock into the sea, says he is not angry with the company his brother worked for.

An injured man was winched to safety after the boat he was in became wrecked on rocks near St Clair, in Dunedin, on Saturday.

Two boaties have spoken about the moment they came across a family who survived a capsizing that left a father missing off the Bay of Plenty coast.

A Waihi beach fisherman has told of how he found an upside-down boat at Bowentown Heads last night, shortly before a search was mounted for a missing man.

Plans are under way to recover the bodies of three Canadian men believed killed in a plane crash in Antarctica after the wreckage of the aircraft was found on Saturday.

Mountaineers on Mt Cook have told rescuers of the moment a rock slide came surging towards them and described it as both terrifying and "pretty amazing".

A group of teenage boys have told of an hour-long rescue in which they pulled three struggling swimmers from ferocious seas.

Two Dunedin students rescued from remote bush say the biggest lesson learned from their ordeal is to always carry a locator beacon in the backcountry.

A helicopter was dispatched from Te Anau with a doctor and police staff, but when they arrived at the scene the man was pronounced dead.

When high waves stranded a father and his 8-year-old son on a sheer rock at Whakatane, Chantal Lillas knew exactly what risks she would have to take to reach them.