The family of a 25-year-old man who went missing while snorkelling in Northland this afternoon are scouring the beach for any sign of him.

A former West Coast gold miner whose body was discovered at the bottom of a deep hole yesterday had disappeared previously.

A tramper who went missing in a remote and rugged part of the South Island is likely to have been swept away by strong currents before drowning in a gorge.

Searchers looking for a tramper missing in rugged country in the South Island have found tracks leading to a river - but none coming out.

The first official Indonesian report on the AirAsia crash says the accident was caused by "icing" that damaged the plane's engines - a finding experts immediately doubted.

A temporary break in poor weather yesterday failed to help the search for wreckage from AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

The family of an Australian climber missing for four days on New Zealand's tallest mountain are coming to terms with fears he is probably dead.

An intoxicated man who walked into the sea at a Christchurch beach fully clothed this morning is missing and presumed drowned.

An Indonesian official last night said objects had been spotted in the sea by a search plane hunting for the missing AirAsia jet.

Police have named three people who have died in water-related accidents so far this holiday season.

Family members of a missing teenager were keeping an emotional vigil on a Northland beach last night - the latest incident in a horror start to the holiday season in the water.

An Auckland woman and a local man were rescued from a rip at Mt Maunganui.

Up to $10,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on a rescue in Northland over the weekend for a group of Aucklanders "who were not in real danger", police say.

The Air Force says crew on a new helicopter rescued a missing tramper on the chopper's debut mission.

Police and volunteer search and rescue teams are looking for a missing 21 year-old tramper.

A search is underway after a French tourist went missing on a mountain hike in Arthur's Pass National Park.

The search and recovery effort for an experienced climber who died on the country’s highest mountain has resumed this morning.

An Auckland man who drowned while having a swim yesterday was remembered as being a "very happy and jolly guy" by his heartbroken friend last night.

A man who fell from a ridge on the country's tallest mountain is dead, police have confirmed.

An off-duty postie and an injured engineer held an elderly woman's head above water as she sat trapped in her car which had rolled down a bank and plunged into a stream.

Early on Saturday morning, American Osprey aircraft whirred over the Yemeni coast from the Gulf of Aden, flying above the rugged mountains of Shabwe province.

A person is missing after falling from a bridge, sparking a search effort in the Waitemata Harbour this morning.

A 19-year-old woman who spent a "helpless and hopeless" night stranded on Mt Ngauruhoe wearing a hoodie and yoga pants, says she will never go tramping again.

A team of search and rescue specialists and police were "preparing for the worst" while searching for a woman who spent a night 1500m up Mt Ngauruhoe.