Six students and teacher die in New Zealand flood

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - 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.

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 on Wednesday.

Four students and an instructor survived the flooding, one of them was taken to hospital with back injuries.

"This is every family and community and schools' worst nightmare," Prime Minister Helen Clark told parliament.

"I think the thoughts of all Kiwis will be with the families and the school communities and the outdoor pursuit centre today," Clark said.

The Mangetepopo is steep and narrow-sided in parts and littered with large boulders, which would have been unforgiving to anyone being swept through the water, said senior police constable Barry Shepherd.

Grant Davidson, chief executive of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre which organised the trip, said there had been no warning of the heavy rain and when the students entered the gorge the river was at a low level.

All were wearing wetsuits, lifejackets and helmets and were led by an experienced instructor, but the river rose 36-fold within 30 minutes, Davidson said.