River tragedy

The search for a missing person on the Wairoa River continues after a dinghy flipped on the water on Wednesday evening. Two people were in the 2.5m aluminium dingy when it overturned in the Wairoa River. One person was able to swim ashore and alert police about 5.30pm, but the other did not return to shore. The dinghy was located by search crews in a helicopter, upturned on mudflats on the northern side of the river and about 500m upstream from the river mouth. Wairoa District Council gave notice of a ra¯hui in place from the Wairoa River mouth to the Wairoa Bridge on Thursday morning, which remains in place until further notice. “The Rauhina Marae Trustees have placed a ra¯hui on the collection of kai meaning that the collection of fish is now prohibited in the river from the river mouth back to the town bridge,” the council notice reads.