Holiday tragedy: One dead, one missing
One person is dead and another is missing after a small boat capsized off the Kapiti Coast, near the Otaki River mouth.
It is believed the two men were going down the river in a small inflatable boat with oars and found themselves in a patch of rapid flowing water near the mouth.
They jumped out of the boat but were pushed further, ending up in the sea.
A member of the public saw two people in trouble and contacted police.
Lifeguards, police and a helicopter crew were called in to help with the sea rescue at 1.40pm yesterday.
At 3.30pm, police said they had recovered the body of a middleaged man and were still searching for the other person.
Police search and rescue incident controller Gareth Hughes said the water search was suspended at 7pm because of rough conditions, but Land Search and Rescue teams would continue to search the shoreline on foot until late last night.
‘‘Police are working to notify next of kin of the man found ... our thoughts are with the family. It is believed he was a local man,’’ Hughes said.
Residents of the area who had gathered just north of the river mouth yesterday said the area was a popular fishing and kayaking spot. The river mouth was ‘‘forever changing’’, one Otaki resident said.
Several residents said the sea was far choppier than usual and the river was flowing rapidly when the men got into trouble.
The river had a very large tidal variation, and could sometimes be treacherous, one man said.
At least one of the men in the boat, who locals thought were either in their 50s or 60s, was paddling with an oar.
Two ambulances arrived near the scene about 4pm and another was seen heading away.
A rescue helicopter searched the area above choppy seas and was mostly hovering over a spot just south of the river mouth. In the same area, rescue boats were travelling back and forth.
Police, Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter, Surf Life Saving, Kapiti Coastguard and Manawatu Coastguard were all involved in the search for the second person.
Met Service had warned of galeforce winds and four-metre swells on the Kapiti Coast on Sunday. Meteorologist Melissa Roux said although the wind died down yesterday to maximum gusts of 41kmh, three-metre swells were seen on the coast.