THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016

Vessel overturns on Kawhia Bar

At 6:28am on Thursday 1 December, a 5.3m Haines Hunter vessel heading back over the Kawhia Bar with four people on board logged a bar crossing report with the Coastguard Operations Centre, and was put on a 20 minute watch.

At 6:48am, when the watch expired, Coastguard attempted to contact the vessel via VHF and cellphone. After multiple attempts to contact the vessel were unsuccessful, Coastguard activated an all-stations alert, and tasked Coastguard Raglan’s Gallagher Rescue. Coastguard Auckland Air Patrol were also put on stand-by.

A passing vessel of opportunity retrieved one person from the water and informed Coastguard, before sighting two other people from the overturned vessel who had swum to shore. The remaining person was initially missing, but was quickly sighted and rescued. The four people were brought back to Kawhia Harbour to be met by St John Ambulance and Hamilton Police for assessment.

Coastguard commends the crew of the Haines Hunter for taking appropriate safety measures as they approached the bar. Because the crew had logged a bar crossing report with the Coastguard Operations Centre over VHF Radio, an emergency response was quickly activated. All those aboard were also wearing lifejackets as they crossed the Bar, and they had at least two forms of communication on board (VHF and cellphone).

ENDS

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