The jetski approached the shore at speed, turned suddenly and tipped a canoe over. Photo / David Cooper
Marine officials are hunting for two youths who were photographed tipping a child out of a canoe with their jetski on a Rotorua lake.
A sequence of photos shows a wall of water in the jetski's wake engulfing and overturning the canoe and the young girl struggling to
climb back as the 110-horsepower ski returns in a bid to repeat the stunt.
The photos were taken from a jetty at Okawa Bay on Lake Rotoiti on Thursday by Aucklander David Cooper, a long-time holidaymaker at the lake, who said yesterday such antics were all too common there.
He believed the rider he photographed was younger than the minimum age of 15 for operating such a powercraft and had broken almost every rule in the book.
"You will see that the jetski approaches the shore at speed, turns suddenly and tips a canoe over ... [then] the rider returns again at speed to try it again and then speeds off."
He had seen several accidents on the lake over the years, including one in the 1970s that killed a young water-skier who hit a vessel parkedin a designated ski lane.
"This is an example of how jetskis can easily kill people," he said of the latest incident. "Luckily no one was hurt but that is just good luck."
He estimated the ages of the pair on the jetski as 13 or 14, and the canoeist's as about 10.
Rotorua Lakes harbourmaster Andrew Lang said he had received a complaint from Mr Cooper and his staff had identified the jetski.
They had an address for the rider, who would be warned that a repeat offence would lead to a fine of up to $200 or worse for a serious safety breach leading to a prosecution.
The incident followed a crash between a jetski and a powerboat at Kai Iwi Lakes in Northland last week in which a man was injured, sparking calls from residents for better water-safety education.
Another man drowned this week after falling from a jetski into Lake Taupo without a lifejacket.
In January last year, a man accidentally ran over and killed his wife with a jetski near Twizel.
