Man clings to dying mate
Aman thrown into chilly waters after a boat flipped crossing the Manukau Bar tried to swim for help, while his companion clung on to their dying friend for more than two hours.
The Pukekohe fisherman who rescued the men and helped recover their friend said they could have been dealing with more deaths if the men had been in the water any longer.
Murray Kayes and his crew were heading to a fishing spot near Manukau Peninsula when they spotted a plastic chair, a seat top, shoes and other floating debris just after midday on Saturday.
The 72-year-old, who was fishing with his friend and his 42-year-old son, carried on a further 150m into the harbour and spotted two men waving at them from the ocean.
The stricken pair were visible in their bright yellow life jackets, while another man was floating face down without a life jacket.
“The boat sank straight away. They had actually tried to go out across the bar and realised they shouldn’t have been there and tried to turn and it got them,” Kayes said.
The first man they approached, in his 50s, had been clinging to the body of his dead friend, 56-year-old Joe Tetou Williams, and had turned blue in the face.
“He had been holding on to the deceased until he passed away and he had hypothermia very badly.”
The younger survivor, in his late 30s, had been trying to swim for help, but had become disoriented and was swimming in the wrong direction.
“The second guy we pulled on board, he was quite a bit younger and very emotional about it as you would be.”
Kayes took the boat loaded with the survivors and the body to Little Huia where they were met by emergency services.
The survivors were treated by St John and taken to Waitākere Hospital.
Police Senior Sergeant Ross Hunter praised Kayes and his companions and said he “couldn’t thank them enough”.