Tunnel crash closure continues into night

A man who scaled pipes above a Wellington motorway tunnel entrance on State Highway 1 turned down food and water from police negotiators.

District Commander Inspector Chris Bensemann said police had been negotiating with the ‘‘agitated’’ man to bring him down since he climbed up on the pipes around noon yesterday.

‘‘We are determined to resolve this safely without anyone being hurt,’’ he said. ‘‘He has been difficult to deal with.’’

The 31-year-old Wellington man refused food and drink offered by police and wasn’t coming down due to ‘‘personal issues’’, Bensemann said.

‘‘He has been making requests to speak with his partner and we’re trying to work our way through those requests.’’

Bensemann said the man’s physical wellbeing deteriorated in the heat of the afternoon sun, and at one stage he lay down on the metre-wide pipe for about an hour. Once the temperature cooled down, he appeared to have more energy.

Getting him down safely was paramount, but also ‘‘very much a game of patience where we have to wait for him to come down’’.

There was a possibility the man could be up there all night, he said.

Four double-decker buses, put into position with police on board for support, were brought in to reduce the drop space.

The section of State Highway 1, the main entrance to the capital, was closed after the man, who had a knife, climbed above the road following a head-on crash near the tunnel.