Fears are growing for a British backpacker who went missing in the South Island of New Zealand after the area was hit by heavy rain and flooding.
Stephanie Simpson, 32, has not been seen since she went for a hike on Friday at the Mount Aspiring National Park, home to one of New Zealand's highest peaks.
Police started looking for Stephanie after she failed to keep an appointment on Monday and was reported missing.
"Search teams remained out in the area overnight," New Zealand police said in a statement.
"It is a large search area and much of it is difficult terrain," it added.
On Wednesday, drones with thermal imaging are to be deployed in the area along with search and rescue teams on the ground and a helicopter.
Flash floods and incessant torrential rains hit New Zealand's South Island last week leaving several hundred tourists stranded for days and forced many residents to evacuate their homes.
It was not clear if Stephanie's hike at the Mount Aspiring National Park was affected by the rains.
Stephanie is from Essex in England and her parents are flying to New Zealand to help with the search.
Thousands of hikers visit New Zealand each year to explore its mountains and wildlife.
In 2016, a Czech women spent nearly a month alone in a warden's hut on a remote hiking trail on South Island after her male partner was killed in a fall.
Questions were raised last year about New Zealand's reputation as a safe, easy-going holiday destination after 22-year-old British backpacker Grace Millane was murdered by a man she met on dating app Tinder. A jury convicted the man in November and he is to be sentenced on February 21.
