Freak wave caused fatal capsize, survivor says

Invercargill man Neville Pasco died after a freak wave "the size of a house" overturned his fishing boat on Wednesday, says his companion.

Damian Booth, 28, was the sole survivor of the boat capsize in Foveaux Strait which claimed the life of his 55-year-old father-in-law.

The pair were returning from a fishing trip near Dog Island, 5km southeast of Bluff, when the 4.7m boat was hit by a massive wave, Mr Booth told the Southland Times.

"It was at least the size of a house. It shot straight up in front of us. There was nothing the skipper (Mr Pasco) could do. It flipped us straight on our back."

He and Mr Pasco, who were not wearing lifejackets, tried to hang on to the overturned hull while they awaited rescue, but kept slipping into the 11degC water.

Eventually, Mr Pasco decided to try and swim the 1km to Dog Island but he never made it.

Mr Booth later managed to free a lifejacket from under the hull and put it on.

Just when he thought all hope of rescue was gone, the fishing boat Lathan Bay found him.

Mr Pasco's body was found in the water near Dog Island at 8.39pm.

"I want other people to know, get the safety gear - EPIRBs (marine emergency locator beacons), flares ... we just didn't have that stuff, we were ill-prepared," Mr Booth said

- NZPA