Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Local Govt | National News Video | Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Search

 

Update 6: Stewart Island SAR

Update 6: Stewart Island SAR

There will be no searches today for the four remaining people missing from the Easy Rider.

Police have made a decision not to search today because no new information has come to hand. However they say that re-activating the search is still a possibility should new information become available.

Since Thursday afternoon, Police, SAR staff, the Navy, Riverton and Bluff Coast guards and members of the local commercial fishing fleet, have put in around 52 hours of searching in the vicinity and wider locality where the Easy Rider was found resting on the sea floor on Friday. In total 27 vessels have participated in the search, with a maximum of 15 vessels at any one time.

The Navy Dive squad assisted by the Police Dive squad dived twice at the site yesterday, carrying out an extensive search of the vessel but found no sign of the missing people.

Using a sonar unit they collected visual footage of 40,000 square metres and found nothing significant.

An aerial and sea search was also carried out yesterday. A fixed wing aircraft conducted an aerial search of the mainland coast between an area of roughly Riverton and Waipapa Point. Two coastguard vessels also searched the mainland coast. The outer islands at Bluff - including the area around Ruapuke Island - was also searched. Nothing of significance was found.

Four bodies had previously been found during searches, one on Thursday and three on Friday. A survivor was also picked up on Thursday.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

The contribution of local experts has been invaluable to the search management team to ensure that every conceivable possibility has been looked at.

Police also acknowledge the huge effort from the whole search team and in particular the many volunteers from the local commercial fishing community.

Police had hoped for a better outcome at this stage, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with all families involved.

This is obviously a very stressful time for the families and they have asked Police to pass on their request that the media respects their privacy during this very difficult time.

We continue to support the families with our iw liaison officers and victim support teams.


ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.