Rāhui after man dies while rafting

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A rāhui has been placed over part of the Mōhaka River in Hawke’s Bay after a man drowned there while rafting over the weekend.

A post from iwi Ngāti Hineuru said on Tuesday a blessing had taken place “at the location where our whanaunga drowned on our awa Mōhaka”.

Police on Wednesday morning confirmed one person had died following a water-related incident in Mōhaka River, Bay View, on Saturday.

Around 3pm a raft tipped while going down the Mōhaka River and one person had subsequently died, police said.

His death has been referred to the coroner.

A rāhui had been placed on the river from Glen Falls to Te Kooti’s Bridge and will be in place until further notice, the post said.

It had already been a tragic few days in Hawke’s Bay with two people killed in separate road crashes, one on Friday afternoon and one on early Saturday morning and a beach drowning, also on Friday afternoon.

— NZ Herald