Two injured after a boat capsized on the River Eyre near Kaiapoi, Canterbury

Two people were rushed to hospital after a boat capsized in the Eyre River, west of Kaiapoi.

Emergency services were called on the banks of the river, which flows southeast into the Waimakariri River, shortly before 3 p.m. after the boat carrying the group of four capsized.

Two of the four members of the group were injured in the incident, one seriously and the other moderately.

A rescue helicopter took the couple to Christchurch Hospital, says a St. John spokeswoman.

The other two in the group required no medical evaluation or treatment, he said.

Two fire trucks from the Kaiapoi Brigade were on the riverbank trying to access the party, said Lyn Crossan, New Zealand Fire and Emergency South shift manager.

It is the second water incident in the area in a week, after one person was killed in an incident involving a boat in Kaiapoi last Wednesday.

Police were called to the Waimakariri River at around 7:30 am and the boat was found a short time later.

A spokeswoman confirmed that it was not a drowning incident.