Current state of SH5 between Napier and Taupo. Video / Mike Scott
A laborious and sweltering trip up Napier’s Tutaekuri River for SAR boat teams scanning for bodies from Cyclone Gabrielle was called off this afternoon because of hazardous gas from a leaking sewage plant in the area.
Now eight days after several metre high flooding swept through huge expanses of farmland and crops just south of Napier, Surf Lifesaving SAR teams are slowly ticking off numerous rivers in the area, searching for at least 10 people who police hold “grave concerns” for.
Already there have been 11 confirmed deaths from Cyclone Gabrielle which hit the top of the North Island on the evening of February 13.
Today’s search up the Tutaekuri River included three inflatable SAR boat teams - with one local Napier SAR member in each boat, bolstered by team members flown in from Dunedin.
But the search was called off after a few hours at around 3pm today - for safety concerns.
It is understood the risk was related to hazardous gas in the area. At first, the SAR teams believed it was to do with the soil, which is strewn with rotting crops, silt, and some dead farm animals.
But on return to their entry point for the search at the Clive River mouth, it emerged police had closed a wastewater treatment plant, located along the SH51 near Clive Bridge, that was leaking. Huge lines of traffic blocked the highways between Napier, Hastings and Havelock North due to the bridge closure.
Cyclone Gabrielle has destroyed significant parts of the North Island. Surf lifesaving SAR teams out on the Ngaruroro River in Hawkes Bay looking for bodies. Photo / George Heard
A surf lifesaving SAR team searching the debris of a damaged bridge on the Ngaruroro River. Photo / George Heard
Earlier in the day, Napier Coastguard incident manager Henry van Tuel said they have retrieved no bodies from the sea and rivers over the last few days and the “rumours” there were potentially hundreds of bodies out there is incorrect in his opinion.
“There are not hundreds of bodies stacked away somewhere,” van Tuel said.
The Coastguard has been doing sweeps of the Hawke’s Bay coastline in their boats every day last week, but they have not been out to the ocean the last few days.
Surf-lifesaving SAR teams are however continuing to go up the rivers in the area each day.
Vantuel said there was “not a polite way” to say this but because the SAR teams are finding animals quite regularly in locations they have searched – if there were also lots of people who had drowned too, they would be finding the bodies.
“We have found, and I spoke to some Landsar people last night who were at the Esk Valley, who have found animals,” van Tuel said
“So we’re finding that sort of stuff. Hand on heart, the Coastguard assets, and the Landsar assets, and the Surf [lifesaving] assets, the last few days have found no bodies. I think there would have been deaths where the mudslides [have] gone through their house. If you look at old pictures of the Esk Valley, you’ll see trees, you’ll see fences, you’ll see vineyards.
“So there are lots of natural barriers, and that’s where Landsar were finding stuff, that was tied up in fences. The human body is kind of like equivalent to an animal. You would expect [to see them].”
A surf lifesaving SAR team on the Ngaruroro River. Photo / George Heard
An aerial view of surf lifesaving SAR teams searching the Ngaruroro River. Photo / George Heard
Coastguard skipper Matt Harvey said they have been in floodwaters in past days going around small local towns and houses looking for people
But today, they were going up the Tutaekuri River surrounded by field upon field of destroyed crops around Whakatu and Pakowhai.
The river was now at least 6m wider than it usually would be during summer, Harvey said.
“Searching the banks. Anything, signs for things that could be caught up. If we find animals caught up it’s a good sign we might find something else caught up,” he said.
“If there’s signs of clothing whatever we can find.
“Just signs of anything and as we’re tracking up, if they find areas that they feel there’s a lot of stuff that’s washed up and landed on top of something, they’ll stop, go up, investigate and come back down, carry on.”
Temporary Hawke’s Bay SAR co-ordinator Brent Matehaere was leading today’s search in several 4WD’s from the riverbank.
A surf lifesaving SAR team member checking equipment. Photo / George Heard
Searching the Ngaruroro River. Photo / George Heard
Along the drive were piles of dead livestock emitting a foul odour.
Matehaere said such smells are unfortunately part of the signs search and rescue take notice of when they’re searching for bodies.
“If we get a whiff of that, no one’s checked. It would be nice if they buried them,” he said.
Matehaere flew in from Dunedin a few days ago to relieve exhausted Hawke’s Bay SAR workers.
“[We came] in to support the locals. Make sure they’re okay, they’ve obviously been under the pump and receiving a lot of information from all over the place,” Matehaere said.
“The main reason we’re here is to maintain business as usual, because we’ve got all these people that have basically been working their buts off, you know six, seven, days and they’re cooked.
“So they’re not in an operational space. So they need to be stood down, go back to their families, have a rest. They’re tired and fatigue is obviously a major factor in accidents and mistakes. So we want to make sure we’ve got people who are ready and able to respond.”
