Police investigating death of girl run over by dad

File Photo / NZ Herald

Police are still investigating how a 7-year-old girl was run over and killed near Twizel yesterday.

The incident happened about midday at a property off State Highway 8, police said.

The girl's father was reportedly driving the vehicle at the time of the incident and phoned emergency services.

The small Mackenzie District town has rallied together today to protect the family involved.

Shop workers, business owners and residents would not talk about the incident today.

"As you can probably well understand it is a tragic event and the family has asked for full privacy," a spokeswoman for the Twizel Information Centre said.

Meanwhile, the police investigation continues, with further details are expected to be released later today.

"We're not in a good position to comment at the moment," a spokesman for Fairlie police said.