Dead man and crewmate may have drifted for nine hours

Doubtful Sound. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A dead fisherman and his seriously injured crewmate may have drifted for nine hours on their damaged boat before being found in Doubtful Sound yesterday morning.

Today police confirmed that the dead man was 33-year-old Bluff commercial cray fisherman Jason Ross Nilsen. His injured crewmate was in a serious but stable condition with a fractured skull and facial injuries in Southland Hospital in Invercargill.

The men were found about 8.45am in the damaged and floating 6m aluminium vessel by Department of Conservation staff working in the Fiordland National Park, Sergeant Tod Hollebon, of Te Anau police, said.

It was thought the men might have been drifting in the damaged boat for up to nine hours.

The incident appeared to have been a "pure accident", Mr Hollebon said.

"It looks like the collision has been with a rock. There is no other vessel involved that we're aware of."

It was thought the crash happened some time between 11pm on Sunday and early yesterday morning.

Southern Lakes Helicopters rescue pilot Chris Green said the relatively new boat was extensively damaged below the waterline from where it had hit rocks. The steering wheel had snapped off and the propeller was damaged.

"It is a testament to the boat because if it had sunk, it would have been much worse for the (survivor). He would have been well and truly unconscious," Mr Green told The Southland Times.

Mr Green said the injured man was talking to rescuers when they arrived but was "badly broken up" and probably did not know what was going on.

"Scoring" marks consistent with an aluminium hull hitting rocks were found "by coincidence" on the east side of Blanket Bay, near where the boat was found drifting, Mr Green said.

Mr Hollebon said the accident was under investigation and the southern coroner had also been advised.

- NZPA