Brit girl, 2, missing in New Zealand after her mum’s 4×4 was swept away in flash flooding with her still inside

A TODDLER is feared drowned after her parents' 4x4 was swept away in flash flooding as they tried to cross a river.

Two-year-old Emily Saunders disappeared underwater after becoming trapped in the submerged car.

Her parents Sandra and Michael Saunders managed to escape before desperately trying to get help from a nearby farm house.

The British farm workers, who emigrated to New Zealand, had driven across Paeroa River near Harihari, south of Hokitika, to pick up friends.

But tragedy struck when their car got stuck during a torrential downpour.

Emily went missing along with 66-year-old Barry Petrie, whose body has since been discovered on the beach south of the rivermouth.

Officials have been forced to suspend the search for the missing girl because of nightfall and heavy rain.

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Searchers found Petrie's body on the beach south of the rivermouth about 2pm on Friday.

Emily has two young sisters. The family emigrated to New Zealand from Britain.

The couple worked as sharemilkers for farm owners Frank and Anne Simpson.

The happy, smiling toddler was swept away in her parents' 4x4 as the heavy rain proved too powerful

Anne described Emily, who had two older siblings, as "a lovely girl" who she often babysat.

She added: "She was a darling little two-and-a-half-year-old."

The family feel "terrible", she told .

This morning, New Zealand police issued a statement on the West Coast River search.

A spokesman said: "The search for missing two year-old Emily Saunders in the Poerua River on the West Coast has been suspended for today due to loss of light and deteriorating weather conditions.

"The weather conditions are set to worsen over the weekend so the search is not scheduled to resume until Monday morning at this stage."

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