One person is dead after a light aircraft crashed near Lake Pukaki in the South Island.
At 4:23pm, police were alerted that the aircraft was overdue and at 5pm, it was reported that it had crashed near the Pukaki spillway's south-east end, east of Twizel.
Police later confirmed the pilot, the plane's sole occupant, had died.
Inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.