The Armed Offenders Squad has been called to a house on the West Coast, where a man is holed up with a sword and a crossbow.
A police spokesperson says officers were called to the scene just before 8am on Thursday.
The spokesperson says the 53-year-old man is thought to be the only person in the house.
Police from the West Coast have been joined by a police dog which was flown in from Christchurch.
