Wellington - The death toll reached seven in the tragic flash flood that swept six teenage students and a teacher to their deaths during an outdoor education course on New Zealand's North Island, according to media reports Wednesday.

The bodies of four teenagers and the teacher were found in the Mangatepopo Gorge in the Tongariro National Park on Tuesday night and searchers found the other two bodies in the early hours of Wednesday.

The tragedy occurred after torrential rainstorms battered the island. Radio New Zealand quoted a police officer as saying the group was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The students, aged 16 and 17, were part of a group of 40 from Elim Christian College in Howick, Auckland, attending a course at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Turangi, 365 kilometres north of the capital Wellington.

They were on a day trip to the gorge when they were trapped by the rapidly rising Mangatepopo River after heavy rain.

College principal Murray Burton said the students had apparently become separated from the main party and did not meet up with the others at the end of the day.

He said he understood they were well equipped for the river with wetsuits, life jackets and harnesses.

Earlier on Tuesday, a man and his horse were killed by a bolt of lightning as the storm battered New Zealand's far north, but more than 80 other riders with him on an organised hunt survived, news reports said. (dpa)