KEY POINTS:
A man diving with a friend for paua in a bay near Blenheim is believed to have drowned after failing to surface on Saturday evening.
And in an unrelated incident, the body of a man was found yesterday morning in Blenheim's Wairau River. It had been in the water for several days.
Both are believed to be local men.
The 42-year-old diver was found dead in the sea off Monkey Bay at Rarangi, about 15km north-east of Blenheim. He was snorkelling for paua, and when he failed to surface his family, who were on the shore, called police.
A search of the water and coastline was made by police, firefighters and volunteers using three vessels and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
The man's body was found, still submerged. He is believed to have drowned.
The body of a 37-year-old man was found by a kayaker in the Wairau River, near the Lower Wairau rowing clubrooms, at 8am yesterday.
Police said the man was a Blenheim resident and familiar with the area.
They said there were no suspicious circumstances, but they were making further inquiries.
This year, to the end of October, 62 people have drowned, compared to 92 at the same time last year. In 2005, 115 people died by drowning.
Water Safety New Zealand spokesman Matt Claridge said the year had been going well until a horror month for drownings in October, with 12, and a series of incidents in November.
Drowning while diving was always going to be a risk "inherent with New Zealand and the food gathering culture".
Water Safety New Zealand had only recently run a Dive Safe campaign, he said, and had just developed a range of materials translated into Maori.
