Police recover body of man from city river

Turanganui River

The body of a man was recovered from the Tūranganui River on Thursday night in what is being treated as an apparent drowning .

Police were notified of a water -related incident in the river near the Cenotaph around 8.20pm that night.

The Herald was told the man was seen in the water by friends.

Police were called and officers pulled the 64-year-old out of the river.

St John ambulance crews, paramedics from the rescue chopper service who came in a vehicle, and firefighters joined police at the scene.

A St John spokesman said the man could not be revived and he was pronounced deceased.

Police said yesterday he was a member of the city’s homeless fraternity.

“We are still in the process of contacting next of kin.

“How he ended up in the river is part of our inquiry.”

Police have sought a post mortem examination to ascertain how the man died, as part of the information they will gather on behalf of the Coroner.