Drowned man wasn't wearing lifejacket

William Rouppe van der Voort

The body of 24-year-old William Rouppe van der Voort was recovered from Lake Rotorua by the Police National Dive Squad yesterday. Divers found his body about 500m from shore.

An investigation is under way into the cause of the accident, but police have confirmed that none of the five occupants of a boat that sank were wearing lifejackets.

The boat took in water and capsized off Ngongotaha on Wednesday.

One of the men said the group, all in their mid-20s, decided to go out fishing late in the afternoon on the "glassy" lake.

Within about 15 minutes the wind got up and the surface became increasingly choppy, he said.

"The weather was like a monster, it was crazy, out of control wind."

Two of the men stayed with the overturned hull while Mr Rouppe van der Voort and two others swam towards the shore, using emptied gas tanks from the boat for flotation.

As they were swimming one of the men looked back to see Mr Rouppe van der Voort struggling.

His mother, Julie, said she believed her youngest son, an epileptic, had a "grand mal" seizure as he was swimming to shore.