Weather: Man dies in freak slip, Fiordland tourists airlifted

A man's been crushed to death by falling rocks in a freak accident in the North Island and in the South Island, hundreds of tourists have had to be rescued by helicopter after being trapped by a slip in a remote part of Fiordland. The man who died on State Highway 4 was among a group of motorists who had stopped to clear a small slip off State Highway 4 near the Ruakawa Falls, between Whanganui and the Tongariro National Park. In the south, hundreds of tourists had to be airlifted out of Fiordland's Deep Cove after heavy rainfall brought down a slip over the sole access road yesterday. More than 200mm of rain fell in the area in just six hours. It's been reported as many as 339 people were stranded by the slip. Four helicopters were used to fly them out. Before they managed to leave the area many of the tourists sought shelter at the Deep Cove Outdoor Education Trust's centre. The Trust's Bob Hughes talks to Susie Ferguson.