A body has been recovered from the water after a car plunged off a bridge on State Highway 8 near Twizel.
Emergency services were called to the crash at 6:50am on Sunday and an extensive search, involving police, Coastguard and FENZ, began.
On Sunday afternoon, the Police National Dive Squad searched the car in the water but no bodies were found inside it.
Later on Sunday afternoon, police confirmed a body had been found in the water.
"While formal identification is yet to be completed, the deceased person is believed to be associated with the car that was located in the water earlier," a police spokesperson said.
It is still not known how many people were in the car when it crashed, police said.
Police said one lane is closed between Lake Ōhau Road and McAughtries Road.
"The temporary road closures in the area will continue while the search is underway, to allow emergency services to access the search area safely," police said.
"Police wish to thank motorists for their patience, and to thank everyone who assisted with the search effort today."
