Police have resumed their search for an elderly hunter believed to have been swept down a Bay of Plenty river on Saturday.

A rescue boat skipper made one of the toughest decisions of his life today as he tried to rescue two boaties from the boiling surf at Kawhia on the North Island's west coast.

Police say four people are lucky to be alive after two boats capsized on the Kawhia bar in Waikato today and are praising two local boaties and two commercial vessels for their quick rescue.

Police searching for a missing Roxburgh man have found a body in the Clutha River.

An elderly Auckland man survived a Fiordland flood by sitting on a rock for almost two days as water lapped around him.

A search will resume today for a missing man thought to have been swept away in a river in Central Otago.

Grave fears are held for a man believed to have fallen into the Clutha River in central Otago this afternoon.

A police search and rescue team looking for missing Pahiatua man John Campbell have found a body. Mr Campbell, 64, was last seen leaving his Pahiatua home, in the Tararua district, for work at 6.45am yesterday.

A tramper from the Czech Republic who broke both legs after a sheer 30m fall on to jagged rocks in the Buckler Burn near Glenorchy on Lake Wakatipu, may have survived only because he landed on his pack.

A body found in a crashed car near Napier yesterday has been formally identified as missing motorist Alex Binns, police say.

Alex Binns turns 70 on Wednesday but instead of celebrating, his family are pleading for help to find him.