The Loch Ness Centre in Scotland is calling for "budding monster hunters" and volunteers to join in what it dubs the largest search for the Loch Ness Monster since the 1970s.

The visitor attraction said this week that modern technology such as drones that produces thermal images of the lake will "search the waters in a way that has never been done before."

The new surface water search for the fabled "Nessie," planned for the weekend of August 26 and 27, is billed as the largest of its kind since the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau studied the loch for signs of the mythical beast in 1972.

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The Loch Ness Centre is located at the old Drumnadrochit Hotel, where in 1933 manager Aldie Mackay reported spotting a "water beast" in the loch, the largest body of freshwater by volume in the United Kingdom and one of its deepest.

The story kicked off an enduring worldwide fascination with finding the elusive monster, spawning hoaxes and hundreds of eyewitness accounts.

Numerous theories or explanations have been put forward over the years, including that the creature may have been a plesiosaur, a prehistoric marine reptile, giant eels or even swimming circus elephants.

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The Loch Ness Centre said its team will deploy drones equipped with infrared cameras so they can produce thermal images of the water from the air. A hydrophone will also be used to detect acoustic signals under the water.

Volunteers will be asked to keep an eye out for any breaks or other movements in the water, with guidance from experts on what to look out for and how to record findings.

"It's our hope to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts," said Alan McKenna, of Loch Ness Exploration, a voluntary research team taking part in the upcoming search.

"By joining this large-scale surface watch, you'll have a real opportunity to personally contribute towards this fascinating mystery that has captivated so many people from around the world."

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tours arms factories, inspects artillery plants and even fires a gun in newly released photographs that appear to offer a rare glimpse into the secretive state's weapons facilities.

North Korean state news agency KCNA, which released the photos on Saturday, said the images showed Kim touring a production plant of a "large-caliber artillery complex" and giving "on site guidance" to workers at a facility for "strategic cruise missiles and unmanned attack aircraft."

It also said Kim gave "important directions" regarding "capacity-building for the serial production of new ammunition".

READ MORE: Death toll from train derailment in Pakistan rises to 30 with 60 others injured, officials say 

The visits took place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the news agency said.

The release of the photos comes amid a period of heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula and appears to be the latest show of force by Pyongyang.

In July, North Korea held a major military parade featuring two models of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) as part of its commemorations of the Korean War armistice, known as Victory Day by Pyongyang, even though the grueling conflict ended in stalemate and the peninsula divided.

Hwasong-18 missiles – Pyongyang's newest solid-fueled ICBMs, which many analysts believe have the range to target all of the mainland United States – were wheeled into Kim Il Sung Square in the capital followed by the Hwasong-17, a liquid-fueled ICBM.

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North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam declared the parade a "huge glory" for the nation's armed forces and a "great celebration" for all of its people.

In another show of force that month Pyongyang launched two short-range ballistic missiles, which landed in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

READ MORE: Five children and their father killed in house fire near Brisbane

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The death toll from a train derailment in southern Pakistan has risen to 30, with the number of injured to 60, and rescue operations were underway, officials say.

Ten cars of a Rawalpindi-bound train got derailed, and some overturned, near the Pakistani town of Nawabshah trapping many passengers, said senior railway officer Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho said on Sunday.

Senior police officer Abid Baloch, who was present at the scene of the accident, said that so far 30 bodies have been recovered while more than 60 people were injured, some critically. He added that the death toll may rise as rescue operations continue.

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Baloch said women and children were among the dead and injured.

Local television showed rescue teams extracting women, children and elderly passengers from damaged and overturned cars. Some of the injured were lying on the ground crying for help while locals gave out water and food.

Lakho, who is in charge of railways in the accident area, said rescue crews took injured passengers to the nearby Peoples Hospital in Nawabshah.

He said the ill-fated Hazara Express was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when ten cars went off the tracks near the Sarhari railway station off Nawabshah.

READ MORE: Five children and their father killed in house fire near Brisbane

Mohsin Sayal, another senior railway officer, said train traffic has been suspended on the main railway line as repair trains have been dispatched to the scene.

Sayal said alternative travel arrangements and medical care will be made available for the train's passengers.

Minister for Railways Khaja Saad Rafiq said the crash could be due to a mechanical fault or the result of sabotage. He said an investigation was under way.

Train crashes often occurred on poorly maintained railways tracks in Pakistan where colonial-era communications and signal systems haven't been modernised and safety standards are poor.

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Urgent action needed on dangerous yellow dots that are slippery when wet.

Police launch homicide investigations after three separate shootings across NZ this week.

Five children and their 34-year-old father have been killed in a fire which destroyed their family home on Russell Island, in Brisbane's south-east.

Queensland Police said the siblings were aged between 3-11, and included twins boys, aged four.

Speaking to the media, Superintendent Mat Kelly, said a 28-year-old woman, believed to be their mother, escaped the blaze.

Kelly confirmed the fire, which spread to multiple houses on Todman Street at Russell Island, was not being treated as suspicious.

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"The house has been burnt to the ground," Kelly told media.

"These young boys who could have been men in the future and a man has lost his life.

"We are still speaking with this poor lady who has lost her entire family."

Queensland Police confirmed this afternoon six bodies had been found.

"A port-mortem and scientific examination will take place to confirm the identities of the deceased," a statement said.

Thick plumes of thick smoke were seen billowing into the sky, after the house became engulfed in blames about 6.20am this morning.

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Firefighters rushed to the scene after receiving multiple triple zero calls, where they found the mother crying for help. 

"They were greeted with a distressed lady and a house fully alight," Kelly said.

Nine people were treated at the scene by paramedics and two people including a 21-year-old woman who also got out of the house have been taken to Redlands Hospital in a stable condition.

The tragedy has sent shock waves through the community, Kelly said. 

"(Russell Island) is a very small ingrained community," he said.

"They all support each other and they are devastated by this."

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Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire and police have appealed to anyone with information or relevant vision to come forward.

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Emergency services were called to the prison in Pāremoremo just after 4pm.

The ACT's top prosecutor who led Bruce Lehrmann's criminal trial has quit.

Shane Drumgold's resignation comes in the wake of a damning report into how the justice system handled the case.

He has been on paid leave since May.

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In a statement, Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said Drumgold and he had agreed his position was "no longer tenable."

"The ACT Government will make a detailed statement in response to the Sofronoff Report early in the coming week," Rattenbury said.

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The Northland Taniwha were thumped by Canterbury in Whangārei.

SH35 diversions are in place, motorists are advised to avoid the area and expect delays.