Latest from Otago

Passengers spoken to after chopper tips

Air accident investigators have interviewed the five passengers on board a helicopter that rolled over on landing near Queenstown yesterday afternoon.

Second blow for punched officer

The police officer who was knocked unconscious by a rich-lister's son in an alcohol-fuelled attack was also attacked by a young man five years ago.

Rich-lister's son apologises

The rich-lister's son who punched a female police officer unconscious has today apologised for his "bad decision in the heat of the moment".

Cop bashed by rich-lister's son recovers

The female police officer punched in the face by the son of a rich-lister who escaped a jail sentence is still being helped by colleagues on her road back to work, 18 months after the attack.

Spring sun returns with balmy 23C

Parts of the country are experiencing balmy summer-like temperatures as the mercury soared above 20C at lunchtime today.

McD's brawl: Mum fears for daughter

A Dunedin mother fears for her daughter's safety after she was knocked unconscious by the same teenager in two assaults in as many months.

Driver injured in ambulance crash

An ambulance officer is being treated for moderate injuries after an ambulance hit ice and slid off the road on the Southern Motorway near Dunedin tonight.

Hospital food contract had little uptake

The 15-year hospital food service contract with the Compass Group had to be renegotiated because so few DHBs had joined, it has emerged.

Pupil in induced coma with meningitis

Mount Aspiring College's principal says the school will try to continue with business as usual.

Man who drove drunk to police station jailed

A man who drank a bottle of bourbon before driving his vehicle to a police station to talk to police was jailed for six months.

Pharmacy student faces more drugs charges

A student is held in custody after being charged with possession of amphetamine and steroids while on bail awaiting trial for other drugs charges.

Killer to stay behind bars

The man who raped and killed Owaka teenager Kylie Smith will remain behind bars for at least another five years.

How Czech tramper survived her ordeal

Pavlina Pizova, who survived a month in a remote hut on the Routeburn Track, broke down in tears as she spoke about her fight for survival.

Kia ora: St Bathans

This lovely spot comes with barrels of history, some of it millions of years old, as Elisabeth Easther discovers.

Man feared dead after Routeburn Track fall

A tramper is believed to have fallen to his death on the Routeburn track.

Room check: The Wanaka Hotel

Tennessy Weir checks into a lakefront hotel with a beautiful garden.

Tourist driver's guilty plea over death

Chinese national Limin Ma has admitted causing the death of Dunedin man Riley Baker in a head-on crash when he crossed the centre line to view the ocean.

Trashing of flat terrifies uni student

An Otago Uni student who discovered four unknown women trashing his Hyde St flat yesterday says crime on the North Dunedin party street is "getting worse".