Two people have been found dead after a car was discovered upside down in a stream on Mākara Beach Road in rural Wellington on Wednesday morning.
Emergency services, including Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, and Wellington Free Ambulance, were called to the scene shortly after 8am. Crews arrived to find the vehicle partially submerged in a stream beside the narrow, winding road between Karori and Mākara Beach.
Police located the two bodies inside the car on arrival.
Fire and Emergency shift manager Alex Norris said crews responded to reports of a vehicle in the water on Mākara Beach Road, a stretch known for its tight corners and limited visibility.
The road was closed for several hours while emergency services worked at the scene but has since reopened.
A local resident, who asked not to be named, said multiple emergency vehicles responded, including police cars, ambulances and a fire appliance. They also described seeing a white sheet laid at the scene.
“You usually hear things at night but we didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary,” they told RNZ. “People around here are really shocked.”
Mākara Village cattery owner Cody Stephens said the area has a history of crashes due to a steep drop of about two to three metres from the road down to the stream.
“Our neighbour told me it’s quite a common place where people go off,” he told RNZ.
Police inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.