An early morning brawl in which two men were stabbed was a very rare attack for Queenstown, police say.
Up to 15 people were involved in the fight on Camp Street about 2.20am on Sunday.
Queenstown. Photo: 123rf
One of the injured men was taken to Dunedin Hospital in critical condition while the other was seriously injured.
Detective Senior Sergeant Malcolm Inglis said there was a dispute between two groups of men on the main street.
"It escalated and one of the males was hit over the head with a wine bottle.
"As a result of this things got out of control and two males from one of the groups were stabbed."
One of the groups was in Queenstown for a skiing holiday, and both had been at local bars.
Mr Inglis said it appeared to be a random event with alcohol as a factor.
"Two groups passing each other and comments were made between them and it escalated to an out of control situation."
The brawl would have been quite frightening for people in the area, he said.
"There were a number of witnesses, people in the area, leaving McDonald's which was close by and taxis and cars going by had to stop because the brawl was occurring in the middle of the road.
Mr Inglis said there were occasional fights at night in Queenstown but knife attacks were very rare.
"Knife attacks in Queenstown are certainly very rare" - Detective Senior Sergeant Malcolm Inglis
"It is an unusual situation for Queenstown to have people carrying knives at night."