Maritime rescue exercise Raglan

Further to the release put out earlier in the week a combined agency maritime
emergency exercise is currently underway in the area around Raglan.

Exercise Hyper began on Friday and continues on through to tomorrow.

A number of the scenarios utilise vessels from the local surf life saving
club and coastguard as well as a helicopter provided by the Waikato Westpac
Air Ambulance.

Sergeant Rob Pierce of the Raglan Police said a scenario run off Manu Bay
around midday that involved 15 people in the water requiring rescue was a
classic example of a successful transition from exercise into a real time
scenario.

"During the exercise one of the volunteers in the water began to present
signs of hypothermia, the exercise immediately swung into a real time
recovery operation and everyone extracted without incident.

"You couldn't get a better example of why we hold these exercises than that,
it's a great opportunity for the agencies involved to get together and iron
out any issues before a real-time situation develops."

Another exercise using the Westpac helicopter will take place this afternoon
on and over the Raglan Harbour.

The exercise will run through till tomorrow and be followed by a detailed
debriefing.

Media interested in covering the event are encouraged to contact the Waikato
Police Communications Manager Andrew McAlley on 0272962396.

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