Tangiwai group gathers for anniversary

The 50th anniversary of New Zealand's worst rail disaster has attracted a dozen survivors who plan to next month commemorate the 151 lives lost at Tangiwai on Christmas Eve, 1953.

Organisers hope more of the 134 who survived the crash will come forward to take part in the ceremony on December 21 at the Tangiwai Memorial, beside State Highway 49 south of Mt Ruapehu.

The disaster occurred after Ruapehu's crater lake burst and a lahar surged down the mountain, taking out the rail bridge across the Whangaehu River at Tangiwai.

* Postal registration: Tangiwai 50 Years On, Box 62, Ohakune.