Six teenagers and a teacher have been killed when a flash flood on a river in New Zealand swept them downstream.
New Zealand police and rescue workers recover one of seven victims of yesterday’s river accident in Turangi
A group of 12 students and teachers on an outdoor leadership course were hit by floodwaters yesterday just after they entered the narrow Mangetepopo Gorge, in a rugged and isolated area near the centre of New Zealand's North Island.
Two bodies were carried 2.5km down the Mangetepopo, while five other bodies were found a short distance down river from where the group first got into trouble, police said today.
Four students and an instructor survived the flooding, one of them was taken to hospital with back injuries.
All were wearing wetsuits, lifejackets and helmets and were led by an experienced instructor, but the river rose 36-fold within 30 minutes, police said.