Rescue chopper search off Gisborne suspended after cruise passenger reportedly spots body in water

Two rescue helicopters have been called off the coast of Gisborne. Photo / Flightradar

A search by two rescue helicopters tonight off the coast of Gisborne where a cruise ship passenger has reportedly seen a body in the water has been called off after the aircraft ran low on fuel.

Earlier this evening a spokesperson for Maritime NZ said a passenger aboard the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship had reported seen what they thought might be a body in the water about 25 nautical miles off the coast of Gisborne.

“Search and Rescue helicopters are scanning the area as a result.”

A spokesperson from the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust said, “Rescue helicopters searched the waters off Gisborne for more than two hours on Friday after a passenger on the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship reported seeing what they thought might be a body in the water.”

Dispatched by the Rescue Co-Ordination Centre, Gisborne’s Trust Tairawhiti Eastland Helicopter Rescue crew launched just before 6pm.

They were joined about half an hour later by a Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter crew, who had been in Gisborne delivering a patient.

A Gisborne crew spokesperson said each helicopter had a fuel capacity of two hours to spend circling the search area, by which time low supplies and failing visibility forced them to call off the search.

Unless further information is received, the search is unlikely to be resumed on Saturday morning, a Maritime NZ spokesperson said.

The Ovation of the Seas is a quantum-class cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean International that can hold almost 5000 passengers.

It departed from Sydney, Australia on March 11 for a 12-day round trip to New Zealand.

The Ovation of the Seas' current 12-day route around New Zealand. Photo / CruiseMapper

It is currently en route to Tauranga from Christchurch and is set to arrive around 7am tomorrow before departing for Auckland, the Bay of Islands and then returning to Sydney.

The ship is 1138 feet long, 136 feet wide and cruises at 22 knots.