Children's bodies found in lake

Sonya Poplawski was reunited yesterday with the two children she could not save.

The mother of three escaped with her 9-year-old daughter, Jesseme, from the family four-wheel-drive when it went off the road and plunged into Lake Wakatipu, near Glenorchy, on Friday night.

Thomas John Poplawski, 7, and Georgia Rose Poplawski, 5, sank with the vehicle.

Their bodies were recovered from the submerged vehicle by Navy divers yesterday. A crane was used to bring the 4WD to the surface.

Family friend and spokesman Richard Kennett said Mrs Poplawski and her husband, Stefan, felt relief when their children's bodies were returned to them.

"They are missing their kids but they are really, really relieved to have them back on land with them," Mr Kennett said.

Mrs Poplawski had not yet been able to speak about what happened on Friday night. She was only about 20m from home after a PTA meeting when the accident happened.

The head of the Navy dive squad, Lieutenant-Commander David Turner, said the cold water, about 4C or 5C, and zero visibility at almost 50m deep had made finding the bodies difficult