A man has died from stab wounds after a protracted standoff with armed police in a Christchurch suburban street.

Police are now investigating whether the dead man had any link to the March 15 mosque attacks.

The 54-year-old man had been sought in relation to a firearms incident yesterday.

After a tip-off from a member of the public, a search warrant was executed at a St Martins property late yesterday and police discovered a cache of firearms.

The man was located by police in a stopped vehicle in the Richmond Park area about 12.30am this morning.

The Police Negotiation Team spoke with the man for several hours, and eventually approached to find him in a critical condition.

He died at the scene of a suspected stab wound.

Also today, tragedy on the West Coast after a woman was washed away in floodwaters, and the New Zealand Defence Forces mourns one of its Navy sailors, who died in a training exercise in Devonport this week.