Thirteen people on board a skydiving plane, including the pilot, parachuted to safety in New Zealand on Wednesday moments before the aircraft crashed into a lake.

Witnesses saw a steady stream of people jumping from the plane, which authorities said experienced mechanical failure on its way to Lake Taupo, 280 km south of Auckland, for skydiving.

"I saw everyone deploy out of the plane and the next minute it was in the lake," witness Bevan Johnhill told New Zealand's TV3 network.

"I think the pilot he must have been the last one to get out because he ended up in the blackberries," Johnhill said.

Television footage showed a small aircraft submerged in shallow water.

"It was nothing short of a miracle," said Roy Clements, chief executive of Skydive Taupo, which operated the plane.

Everyone on board the plane got out and landed safely, he said.

New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mike Richards told media it was miraculous no one was killed. An investigation into the cause of the accident had been launched, he said.  - Reuters