Kidnap, attempted murder charges after Dunedin camping ground incident

A man and woman were overcome with LPG fumes at a Dunedin campground last month. Photo / ODT

A man has been charged with kidnapping and attempted murder after a man and woman were overcome with LPG fumes at a Dunedin campground last month.

Police announced this afternoon the man had been arrested in connection with the incident at a camping ground on Otago Peninsula on Thursday 30 May, describing it as a "family harm incident''.

The 43-year-old man will appear in the Dunedin District Court on Friday on charges of kidnapping and attempted murder.

A man and and woman who were in a serious condition after being overcome by the fumes at the Portobello Village Tourist Park had by last week both been discharged from hospital, as detectives continued to investigate.

An Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter, police and firefighters attended the scene at the camping ground after the pair were overcome by the fumes.

The case was under investigation by the CIB but Detective Sergeant Dave Nelson, of Dunedin, declined a request for an interview last week.

However, the pair had both been discharged from hospital and inquiries were ongoing, Det Sgt Nelson said through a media spokeswoman.

He also said there was no link between the incident and a crash that same evening, in which a four-wheel-drive ended up on the rocks off Portobello Rd, near Vauxhall.

Portobello Station Deputy Chief Fire Officer Jamie Ramsay said his volunteer brigade attended the lpg incident but he declined to comment.

A Portobello Village Tourist Park manager, who did not give her name, described the incident as a ''personal event'' and was reluctant to comment further out of respect for the privacy of the pair.

''There's not much that we want to add to anything.

''There are issues that happen in the kind of environment that we have ... There's all sorts of things that go on from time to time. Most of it is personal to the people and we respect their privacy.''