Flowers and official warning signs were placed at the lakefront this morning. Photo / Tracey Roxburgh
Flowers and official warning signs were placed at the lakefront this morning. Photo / Tracey Roxburgh
The body of a man who went missing trying to rescue a child in Lake Wakatipu at Glenorchy has been found.
The man was visiting from Australia and his fiancée watched yesterday’s attempted rescue unfold from the shore.
His parents and brother had flown in from Australia to support the fiancée, Otago Lakes central area commander Inspector Paula Enoka said.
The incident comes less than a week after 48-year-old Leeroy Kaaho, also known as Linkin Kisling, of Wanaka, died last Friday after going in to help his 10-year-old son, who survived.
A police spokesman said officers and ambulance crew were notified a person was in trouble in the water at the head of the lake, near the reserve, at about 4pm yesterday.
“Despite efforts of other swimmers, people on jet-boats, and a helicopter, the person has not yet been located,” police said in a statement last night. LandSAR volunteers also searched the shoreline.
The police dive squad began their search this afternoon. Photo / Tracey Roxburgh
Divers were called for last night and began work about 2pm today, operating from a Dart River Adventures jet boat.
An Otago Daily Times reporter at the scene today said flowers have been placed at the lakefront, ahead of three new signs put up by the Queenstown Lakes District Council in the morning.
The signs warn of multiple lake hazards, including a steep drop-off close to shore, a strong undertow and unstable footing.
A young woman could be seen being supported by police, with a couple of other people nearby.
Residents have said the man police are searching for was not a local.
The community has stationed people at the lakefront and they were taking turns to make sure people weren’t swimming.
There was a very sombre mood in the town, the reporter said.
A Queenstown Lakes District Council spokesman said it would continue working with its partner agencies to consider all measures, including life rings and other flotation devices, which might stop similar incidents from happening again.
Same spot where father died
Witnesses said the events of yesterday afternoon mirrored what happened last Friday.
The missing man was one of three people who went to the aid of a child after they got into difficulty close to the mouth of the Rees River.
The child and the two other rescuers made it back to shore.
The child had been with a family playing on a long sandbank that runs next to the river.
The witnesses believed the three rescuers, a woman and two men, were “Good Samaritans” and not related to the child in distress.
Witnessing the events was “sad to watch”, one witness said.
A Glenorchy resident said members of the small settlement had discussed the need for an official sign to warn the public since last week’s death, although no action had been taken yet.
The area near the wharf had a steep drop-off, at a nearly 45-degree angle going down to a 21m drop.
Eddies at the mouth of the Rees River made the area north of the wharf “treacherous”, as they could pull unsuspecting swimmers out.
