A safety briefing on day two before the vehicle recovery started. Whanganui SAR co-ordinator Senior Constable Keith Thomson (centre in white hardhat) co-ordinated the clean-up operation with the Police National Dive Squad, local iwi and partner agencies. Photo / New Zealand Police
A safety briefing on day two before the vehicle recovery started. Whanganui SAR co-ordinator Senior Constable Keith Thomson (centre in white hardhat) co-ordinated the clean-up operation with the Police National Dive Squad, local iwi and partner agencies. Photo / New Zealand Police
Four vehicle wrecks have been retrieved from the Whanganui River in a week-long operation near Koriniti.
A number of agencies collaborated to lift the disintegrating and mangled chassis from the riverbed. They included New Zealand Police, Horizons Regional Council, Whanganui iwi, Whanganui District Council and Department of Conservation.
Whanganui Area Police, the Police National Dive Squad and a member of the Auckland Maritime Unit were part of the effort, providing underwater search-and-recovery expertise along with surface safety and support.
A crane was used to hoist the wrecks from the awa. Photo / New Zealand Police
The operation, which started on Monday, April 12, was preceded by a pōwhiri at Koriniti Marae, close to where the clean-up took place.
"This was an opportunity to be part of a combined effort to build connection with our communities and help support the wellbeing of the awa, by providing police practical know-how," Whanganui Police area commander Nigel Allan said.
"The river is a spiritual and physical entity that is integral to and sustains the wellbeing of our communities. As police we share a community responsibility to uphold the health and wellbeing of the awa.
"By helping to remove wrecks, we hope we've contributed in a small way to the health and wellbeing of the awa and through this the health and wellbeing of our communities.
"We have made a collective commitment as an area to build our understanding of Tupua Te Kawa [the values that represent Te Awa Tupua], and to uphold those values – it is a privilege to be able to demonstrate that commitment in a very practical way.
"A big thanks to mana whenua for their ongoing support, our partner agencies and all police staff involved in this exercise with a special acknowledgment to Senior Constable Keith Thomson for bringing this all together."
The Police National Dive Squad used the operation as part of their specialist training. Photo / New Zealand Police
Divers worked in zero-visibility conditions to locate the vehicles and mark them with buoys. The team then attached cables and chains so the rusty remains could be hoisted out of the water by crane.
The team used a jetboat and a dinghy on the water, and an ATV to reach the water's edge.
Four vehicles were retrieved from the Whanganui awa. Photo / New Zealand Police
For the Police National Dive Squad members, the work doubled as an annual exercise to maintain and sharpen their specialist skills.
"A lot of the time callouts involve grim circumstances. But this was quite a different operation," national operations support manager Inspector Freda Grace said.
"It's a beautiful awa which deserves to be healthy. Being involved both challenged the squad and allowed us all to give back.
"We want to thank the people of Koriniti Marae for their warm welcome, the other agencies for their expertise and our colleagues in Central District for their support."
