A Martinborough volunteer firefighter is in intensive care battling for his life after going to the aid of a group of young women.

A Papamoa man who was caught in a massive chip-heater hot-water tank explosion has emerged from a coma and is "doing really well" says his wife.

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after a over-heated chip heater exploded and destroyed the kitchen of a family home in Papamoa last night.

Engineers will today pack explosives into huge boulders that have closed Milford Rd in Fiordland, as residents face their fifth day cut off.

An independent weatherman has hit out at the MetService, claiming it was too slow to issue a severe weather warning for Auckland at the weekend.

A 29-year-old farmhand has today pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in July - but the man and his victim's identities remain suppressed.

The severed foot of a man involved in a grisly accident at the Port of Tauranga this morning was transferred with him to hospital.

About 20 Hawkes Bay residents fought an out of control fire with spades and chilly bins of water near Mahia Beach yesterday.

An ex-MP was kayaking with a group on Wellington's harbour this morning when large swells tipped several into the water.

Emergency services responded rapidly and worked well together during the February 22 earthquake in Christchurch last year, an independent review has concluded.

Eight elderly people who were injured when their van rolled in Northland have been discharged from hospital tonight. An elderly woman was killed in the crash.