Rescue service defends response to fishing tragedy

A Northland rescue helicopter service has defended its response to a sinking boat off the Northland Coast in which two crew members drowned.

A Herald on Sunday report yesterday said the the Northland Electricity rescue chopper did not reach the 18m fishing boat The Iron Maiden fishing boat off Cape Reinga until three hours after a mayday call because police postponed its takeoff.

Fishermen Mark Scott, 24, and his cousin Gregory Thirkettle, 25, drowned after the boat sank in heavy weather near Pandora Bank off the Northland coast on August 16 last year.

Mr Thirkettle's body was found the next day but the body of Mr Scott remains missing.

Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) chairman John Bain today said everything had been done properly.

The Herald on Sunday investigation found it took three hours for the helicopter to arrive at the scene after operators at the police Northern Communications centre initially stood down the chopper.

The newspaper reported that the crew sent a mayday call at 7.08pm saying the ship was taking on water.

At 7.16pm the Whangarei-based chopper was put on standby for a rescue attempt. However, it was stood down by police at 7.33pm. The chopper was put on standby again at 7.56pm, but did not take off until 8.58pm. It did not reach the scene until just after 10pm.

The paper said reports of the draft Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) and Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) into the sinking note confusion at the police Northern Communications Centre over the helicopter.

NEST's Mr Bain said today he had not heard concerns raised about the service the rescue helicopter had delivered.

He could not comment in detail on the timing of the helicopter's response without addressing his notes.

However, he believed the rescue helicopter had delivered everything that was asked of it.

"In a situation like that the police would come to NEST and essentially 'charter' the aircraft for the search and rescue. Time constraints are not down to NEST, that's down to the people who make the call," he said.

"To be honest, I think the police do a tremendous job in getting 99.9 per cent of these things dead right."

Police in a statement offered a number of reasons for the delay: The search location was not precise, they were not sure of the helicopter's capabilities, and police operators had to decide whether to fly to the Iron Maiden or a car accident on Ninety Mile Beach.

Mr Bain said if concerns were raised about the operation NEST was receptive to any suggestions as to how to improve their service in future.

"In any situation the families are always hopeful that the result could have been better -- and I understand that -- but we've got to come back to the reality of what can be achieved and what can't," Mr Bain said.

Despite the hold-ups in the search, a draft TAIC report found the delays would not have altered the "tragic outcome" of the incident.

The report found the boat should not have been in such extreme weather with an unfamiliar crew.

However, MSA director Russell Kilvington said he believed the actions of the police Northern Communications Centre would form part of the coroner's inquest into the death.

Police have refuse to comment because the incident is subject to an independent review into police communication centres.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)