More local divers put to use
Questions raised after the recovery of two Catlins divers earlier in the year have prompted the establishment of a water rescue team made up of local divers.
In October, the Police National Dive Squad, from Wellington, were called in about 36 hours into an extensive land, sea and air search for two men reported missing while diving for paua near Purakaunui Bay.
Co-ordinatior of the operation Senior Constable Murray Hewitson, of Owaka, said it had raised questions. ‘‘Some people questioned why there were no local divers used.’’
At a debrief following the recovery, there was a discussion about establishing a water rescue team, to be based out of south Otago, which could save hours of search and rescue time.
About 30 volunteers were called in to search for the men, who were found within two hours of the dive squad getting in the water.
A team of local divers would mean there was not a need to wait on the dive squad, Hewitson said.
However, it would not replace police divers, who would still be used in most cases as they were specialists and had the right resources and procedures to make recoverings, such as underwater cameras, he said. The new team, to be set up by Catlins LandSAR, would likely be recruited from the Kaka Point Surf Life Saving Club, who would soon receive additional training so that they could be deployed for major search and rescue events in south Otago, or wherever needed in Otago-Southland. Hewitson said the local team would initially float on the surface and report back. However, if the local team sighted bodies, it meant the search elsewhere could be called off, saving hours, sometimes days of emergency services and volunteer-time and resources.
People who wanted to volunteer for the team would have to be associated with the club or have done training with the club to meet the required standards, Hewitson said.
At the Purakaunui Bay incident debrief, the Catlins’ popularity for paua diving had also highlighted the need to always log a trip intent, he said. ‘‘Always tell someone where you are going and when you are likely to be back.’’
This was vital in the Catlins because of the remoteness of many locations, cellphone black spot areas or where reception was poor. ‘‘The sooner we know someone’s missing, the sooner we can start [searching].’’
However, this is not a first for the southern region.
Fiordland established its own water rescue team in 2015, which gave volunteers the ability to initiate search and rescue response that would normally be co-ordinated by police and LandSAR.
In the Clutha-Catlins area, it would be called the South Otago Swift Water Rescue Team, with the term ‘‘swift’’ added to include white water river conditions that might be encountered in the district’s waterways other than the sea. Central Otago and Dunedin also had swift water rescue teams.