Goose Bay, Kaikōura boat tragedy: Victim connected to local school community

It appears at least one of the five victims in the Kaikōura charter boat tragedy today is a local person.

A local Kaikōura resident who assisted at the scene of a charter boat which capsized and killed five people said they know the family of one of the victims - who is connected to their son's school.

Five people are dead after a boat carrying a group of bird enthusiasts capsized in Kaikōura this afternoon, possibly after a collision with a whale.

Six more people were recovered alive, including the skipper of the boat.

A local Kaikōura resident who went down to the shore today to help with the search, said one of the families affected by the incident was connected to her son's school.

Photo from a helicopter circling the upturned vessel in Goose Bay with one person seen on the hull. Photo / Supplied

"This will be a horrific time for the families and will be felt throughout our close community tonight and years to come," she said.

"We didn't even lose five people in our 2016 earthquake."

The Kaikōura resident went down to the coast this afternoon to add eyes to the search and see if she could help spot people along the coast.

"It wasn't much, but more than I was adding being at home."

Photos of the rescue at Goose Bay. Photo / supplied

It was difficult to see clearly along the coast due to the large number of seals sprawled along the rocks, she said.

"We saw Dolphins Encounter arrive and it looked like the coastguard transferred the capsized boat to them to hold."

Andrews saw divers go into the water as two helicopters and a plane flew overhead. Three other boats, two of which were whale watching boats, searched the south side of the bay and another boat came in to join.

"Low cloud was rolling in over the mountain and I was worried about how much time they would have left to search.

"I am so relieved they were able to recover everyone as the alternative would be hard to bear.

She was unsure whether any of the other victims were local.

Police this evening described the incident as "unprecedented", and said they were working through the formal identification process.

Police said it appeared the boat collided with something but couldn't comment on if it involved a whale. Earlier in the day Kaikōura's mayor Craig Mackle said he believed the boat had hit a whale.

Whales were resident and had been seen in the area, Mackle said. Sea conditions at the time were "perfect, flat".

Helicopters were brought in to rescue the survivors. Photo / Supplied

The passengers were believed to be part of a bird enthusiast group who hired a charter boat to visit areas of interest.

It is believed they had come from all parts of New Zealand.

The survivors all went to hospital but have all been discharged. One person sustained minor injuries.

Mackle said it was a tragic event that impacted many lives.

He thanked everyone involved in the recovery.

Being able to bring everyone home "is the best result" in such a tragic situation.

"There's nothing worse for a family to not have that closure, to return the deceased to the family, will be special for them," police said.