Search and rescue team members on the shore of Lake Tarawera. Photo / Christine Cornege
Search and rescue team members on the shore of Lake Tarawera. Photo / Christine Cornege
Police have recovered the bodies of an Auckland holidaymaker and his young daughter after they disappeared while kayaking on Lake Tarawera at Rotorua this morning.
Emergency services were called after people in the area heard screams just after 11am.
The 40-year-old man and his 6-year-old daughter were together in asingle kayak.
Police said it was not clear at this stage what happened but the kayak was seen upturned on the water and the pair disappeared under the water and didn't resurface.
Police, the coast guard and Land Search and Rescue were involved in the search. Photo / Christine Cornege
Locals and holidaymakers joined emergency service personnel and Coastguard in the search for the pair and an air search was also carried out by the Bay Trust Rescue helicopter.
Local divers had also gone into the water to help search.
The kayak, a paddle and an adult life-jacket were recovered earlier.
It was understood the child was wearing the adult life-jacket and the father was not believed to have been wearing one.
A Daily Post reporter at the scene said lake conditions were calm.
A woman is comforted by emergency staff as police begin a search of Lake Tarawera to recover two people, believed to have drowned in a kayaking incident. Photo / SNPA / Peter Graney
