A plane that crashed near Fox Glacier, killing nine, is believed to have been over its maximum allowable weight and off-balance.

A West Coast driver who fell asleep and killed a cyclist faces a much longer self-imposed sentence than the community detention handed down, says her lawyer.

Westport teenager Renee McNelis has been killed in a quad bike accident only a fortnight after her best friend Harmony Wihongi died in a car crash.

A severe weather warning has been issued as heavy rain and gales are expected to hit areas across the country.

Two Christchurch women were rescued by helicopter from Arthur's Pass National Park today.

A West Coast man has been acquitted of murder but found guilty of the manslaughter of his friend, following a four-day trial.

Jill Worrall discovers a settlement that time forgot.

Jill Worrall explores the region that was home to the legendary bushman and prospector.

The Reefton winner of a $10.6m Lotto prize initially figured he must have read the Lotto numbers wrong, so put his ticket aside.

West Coast police are investigating the suspicious death of a 38-year-old man whose body was found this morning.

A keg of beer was pulled from the wreckage of a sports car which crashed head-on into a milk tanker, killing two teenagers.

An obese tramper died of a heart attack while wedged in an ice crevasse on Franz Josef Glacier, a coroner's court heard.

A young man drowned in the Grey River in an attempt to avoid a drink-driving conviction, Coroner Richard McElrea has told an inquest.

Skydive NZ's John Kerr says he's "absolutely devastated and numbed" by the Fox Glacier crash that claimed the lives of more than a third of his staff.