KEY POINTS:
A man who died after falling from a jetski at Lake Taupo was not wearing a lifejacket and may not have been able to swim.
Relatives swam to rescue Taniora Clarke, 52, but were unable to save him despite a 45-minute resuscitation attempt.
Mr Clarke was driving the jetski in moderately windy, choppy conditions at Waitahanui, 10km south of Taupo, on Tuesday when the machine tipped and his two passengers, who were wearing lifejackets, managed to reach the shore.
But Mr Clarke, a Waitahanui resident, was not wearing one and was unable to swim the 30m. Ambulance staff were apparently told he could not swim.
St John Taupo area manager Graeme Harvey said an ambulance officer arrived at Waitahanui within two minutes of a 111 call and relatives helped the officer give Mr Clarke CPR until other paramedics arrived but all attempts were unsuccessful.
There was no indication Mr Clarke had a medical condition or had a heart attack before the jetski got into difficulty. "[But] there was a concern the gentleman was unable to swim," he said.
Police have started an investigation into the death.
They said preliminary results from a postmortem examination yesterday were unavailable.
Senior Sergeant Tony Jeurissen, officer in charge of Taupo police, would not comment on whether Mr Clarke was able to swim. "The facts are that he wasn't wearing a lifejacket at the time and we're still investigating."
The matter would be referred to the coroner.
Senior Constable Barry Shepherd, head of Taupo police search and rescue, said poor swimmers in particular needed to wear lifejackets when doing water sports.
"All people need to have is a mishap and get knocked out and it doesn't matter whether they're the best swimmer in the world, they're not going to float if they're disabled or unconscious."
Mr Shepherd said a man in his 30s was rescued two weeks ago at the lake after falling out of a kayak with no lifejacket. The man was wearing waders, which he was unable to pull off in the water. He was rescued 1km from shore after being spotted by two people at the lakeside and spending 25 minutes in the water. "Another 10 or 15 minutes and he might've been history.".
He and Taupo coastguard marine adviser Don Scott said most people using the lake for jetskiing and boating were responsible but there was a lunatic fringe who never learned.
