Teen dies in jetski terror

A teenage jet skier fell off and was run over by friends on a Rotorua lake. A flotilla of searchers look for his body. Photo / APN

A teenage jetskier was killed yesterday when he fell off and was run down by friends. It was one of two horrifying water accidents involving young people in popular holiday spots.

The other accident left two boys, aged 11 and 12, in hospital after a boat piloted by a 16-year-old rammed another near the canals of Pauanui on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Both accidents involved high-speed antics on jet-powered watercraft, Herald on Sunday inquiries have revealed.

Last night, dozens of holiday-makers joined police to scour Lake Okareka near Rotorua for the body of a local 17-year-old high school student.

Hundreds of people on the shore watched the Rotorua-based BayTrust helicopter join the boats and jet-skiers grid-searching the lake.

The rescue effort was coordinated from the exclusive Lake Okareka Lodge, where about 20 people supported each other near a jetty as police established that the missing teen had not been wearing a life jacket.

The Police Dive Squad is due to arrive in Rotorua this afternoon to help with the search.

The Herald on Sunday was told the boy fell from one jetski and was hit by a following one.

Rotorua harbourmaster Ross Powell said he was saddened searchers were dealing with a "needless" tragedy.

"We have been drumming home the need for water safety and the importance of wearing life jackets but the message doesn't seem to be getting through," said Powell.

Wellington's Dave Corbett took his own runabout to help search. Wiping tears from his eyes, he said: "All I could think about was what if it was one of my kids. I don't think they are going to find him alive. It's been too long. I just feel for the family now.

"What a horrid memory of their holiday when they should be going home with great memories of this beautiful spot."

Lake ranger Mike Goodwin said: "Someone has come off a jetski and another has hit him hard at a big speed. He would have had very serious head injuries. There have been reports from some people who were at the lake at the time that they were going very fast and being irresponsible," he said.

"Jetskis are a lot of fun for people. They're like trail bikes on water. They are a lot of fun but very dangerous and very powerful. Some are capable of up to 100km/h," he said.

"I don't think they understood the rules. They shouldn't have been travelling at speed so close together. The rule is five knots within 50m of another vessel and personal flotation devices must be worn."

Lake Okareka Lodge manager Diana Moore confirmed the two jetskis were travelling close to each other when the collision happened.

"A passenger has come off and another jetski ran into him and he disappeared under the water. He was not wearing a lifejacket."

A resident, who declined to be named, said she had seen a group of young men riding recklessly in a speed restricted area. "They went hooning past me and I yelled at them to slow down but of course they didn't."

The death came less than 24 hours after the collision in Pauanui between two inflatable rigid-hulled boats, one powered by an outboard motor but the other propelled by a jet engine.

The 5m jet-engined boat was piloted by a 16-year-old who eyewitnesses said had been circling the 4m outboard.

The larger boat ploughed into the smaller craft at about 7pm on Friday night, causing serious injuries to an 11-year-old boy. He was flown to Starship Children's Hospital suffering broken ribs, and a broken jaw and upper palate.

The 12-year-old boy on the larger boat was taken to Thames hospital with moderate injuries.

Witnesses reported speed as a factor in the crash. Police yesterday warned boaties to stick to the five knot (9km/h) limit within harbour confines.

The last serious crash involving a jet-powered craft in the area was in 2002 when student Adam David Brown died.

Pauanui-Tairua harbour master Wayne Price said parents needed to remember boats were potentially deadly machines.

Price said it was "extremely difficult" to police waterways because harbourmasters did not have certified speed radars. Around 30 speed infringement notices were issued each summer in Pauanui, he added.

Whangamata harbourmaster Dave Moncur said the boys were too young to be in charge of any vessel. "We would stop that. An 11-year-old and a 16-year-old are not fit to be driving any vessel. ... What's wrong with the parents that they give an 11-year-old a [boat]? They have to have responsibility."

Constable Richard Jellyman said Maritime New Zealand would inspect both vessels. Boaties needed to stick to posted speed limits in harbours, he said, and parents needed to supervise children on the water.

Port of Taranaki harbour master Captain John Ireland said he frequently issued warnings to jet skiers doing more than 80km/h close to shore and other vessels.

"When you're going at that speed it's difficult to see swimmers in the water - jetskis run straight through them.

"If people followed the law there would be no problems."

- By Cherie Taylor, Joanne Carroll, Celeste Gorrell Anstiss, Bevan Hurley, Leigh van der Stoep, and Abby Gillies