Weekend Boating Tragedy - Wanganui

"The loss of a young man's life in a boating accident over the weekend off the coast of Wanganui is a tragedy. Our sympathy goes to the father and family of the victim," Acting Police Minister Phil Goff said today.

"Whenever a life is lost in these circumstances, it is important to review the conduct of search and rescue efforts to determine whether all appropriate actions were taken, and to learn any lessons for the future," he said.

"The review will involve Police, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Rescue Coordination Centre, the Coast Guard and other relevant agencies involved in the search. The first phase will be a debrief which will be held on Monday night in Wanganui.

"The second phase will involve a peer review of the decision making process followed by the Police which will be conducted by Senior Sergeant Martin Paget of the Auckland Maritime Police Unit.

"The outcome of these reviews should be known next week. It is important through this process to ensure that if changes are needed in search and rescue procedures, that this occurs.

"Until then and without full information, it is probably unhelpful to speculate on whether the right decisions were taken and whether use of Air-Force resources might have resulted in a different outcome.

"The matter will also be subject in due course to a Coroner's Inquiry," Mr Goff said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media