WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Five people died and three others were missing after a group of teenagers were swept away Tuesday in a rugged national park in New Zealand during an outdoor adventure course.

New Zealand police said on their Web site a group of 12 people, including 10 students from the Auckland Elim Christian College, “got into difficulties while negotiating the Mangatepopo River.”

“Five people are dead and three people are missing,” the statement said.

Three students were rescued, it said. It was unclear what happened to the other person.

Rescue teams were searching the area, but Inspector Paul Jermy said poor weather conditions were hampering those efforts.

Jermy said the students were swept away by rising water levels in the Mangatepopo River in central North Island’s Tongariro National Park.

The teenagers were part of a group of 40 students attending a week-long education course at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Center in the small town of Turangi.

It was not clear whether they were in a boat or crossing the river on foot.

Inspector Steve Mastrovich said a helicopter swept the river before dark and another with night vision capability was traveling to the area to help with the search.

Search and rescue teams also searched the area.

Murray Burton, principal of Elim high school in Auckland, where some of the teenagers studied, said they were on the river when they became separated from the main party.

“From what I understand they were well equipped for the journey with wet suits, life jackets and harnesses,” he said.

“It is a fairly standard sort of activity. I guess it was the (outdoor center’s) call as to whether they should still go (out in the conditions) and I have no reason to doubt their judgment,” he said.

It was not clear whether they were in a boat or crossing the river on foot.

“Our prayers are with the students, the teachers and their parents,” school official Phil Gaze said.

Meanwhile, a man and his horse have died after being struck by lightning in northern New Zealand.

Police said the 50-year-old man was riding the horse on a farm Tuesday near Dargaville on North Island when a lightning bolt hit the man, killing him and horse.

Five other riders were injured and taken to Whangarei Hospital, with four suffering symptoms of mild electrical shock.