Bruce Cawley holds a photo of his stepson, Craig Andrew, who has died after being swept out to sea last month. Photo / Kayla Hodge
Oamaru whitebaiter Craig Andrew has died after being swept out to sea off the Waitaki River mouth last month.
Andrew - who is survived by a 2-year-old daughter - was flown to Dunedin Hospital in a critical condition on Thursday, October 22.
Police this morning confirmed Andrew had since died.
A tribute to Andrew was posted to social media on Friday last week. Police did not confirm when Andrew died.
The 40-year-old suffered a heart attack mid-flight on the way to Dunedin Hospital and at the time his stepfather, Bruce Cawley, described his condition as "50:50".
Andrew was dragged 3km out to sea off the north side of the Waitaki River mouth.
Emergency services were alerted to the accident by a whitebaiter on the south side.
Waitaki River was Andrew's favourite whitebaiting spot.
Cawley described his stepson as a down-to-earth man, and said his 2-year-old daughter was the "sparkle of his life".
The incident comes after a whitebaiter in the same area survived after being swept out to sea three weeks earlier.
The man was wearing a lifejacket and made it back to shore unaided.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.