Weekend emergency callouts in Northland include several vehicle crashes

Two people were seriously injured when their vehicle veered off the road into the Tokatoka Stream in the Far North on Saturday.

The single-vehicle crash happened just before 7am on Backriver Rd, between State Highway 10 and Aputerewa Rd, at Mangōnui.

Hato Hone St John sent two helicopters and an ambulance to the scene. The vehicle’s occupants were each flown in a serious condition to Whangārei Hospital.

Police said inquiries into the crash were ongoing.

Later that morning, an ambulance took another person in serious condition to Bay of Islands Hospital after a crash in Kaikohe at about 10.15am.

Police and the coastguard recovered this boat near Doubtless Bay on Friday afternoon. They have made inquiries and no longer believe anyone is missing at sea from it. Photo / NZ Police

The crashes were among at least five that police and other emergency services were called to during the weekend.

Meanwhile, police said they had exhausted all inquiries into an upturned boat found in Doubtless Bay at 2.30pm on Friday.

Coastguard units retrieved the aluminium vessel Anak Betawi and searched the area. That evening, police appealed for public help to find the boat’s owner, to rule out the possibility that someone might be adrift at sea.

However, the police have since said there was nothing to lead them to believe any person was missing or outstanding.