5 Nov 2008

Man in intensive care after escape of buffalo

11:51 am on 5 November 2008

Police say a farmer was accidentally shot in the head when four men were hunting two escaped water buffalo, at Pukekohe, south of Auckland.

The man, 60, is in a critical condition at Auckland hospital.

Police say their investigations have undermined an initial theory that a bullet ricocheted off a tree and through the roof of a ute in which the man was a passenger.

They say two men with hunting rifles got out of the ute and fired at the buffalo; one shot pierced the roof.

Both buffalo, which escaped while being loaded into a truck, have been destroyed.

The incident happened on Tuesday afternoon near Pukekohe.