Across Asia: New Zealand

7 killed in raging river

Six teenagers and a teacher killed in a raging river in New Zealand were hit by floodwaters which raised the river level 36-fold in half an hour, sweeping some of them downstream through a rugged, boulder-strewn gorge.

A group of 12 students and teachers on an outdoor leadership course were hit by floodwaters late on Tuesday just after they entered the narrow Mangetepopo Gorge, in a rugged and isolated area near the centre of New Zealand's North Island.