Family day at beach almost turns fatal for young sisters caught in deadly rip

Thursday, 24 January 2019

Despite the signs at Kaiteriteri, many swimmers have been caught out over the years.

A doctor who helped rescue several people from a rip at Kaiteriteri fears a death could occur at the popular holiday spot.

Krys Milburn says two young girls saved on Wednesday were close to drowning.

'I think if I hadn't been there, without a doubt the young girl would have drowned because no-one would have got to her in time and the other girl that yelled out for help, she was exhausted.'

Milburn was on holiday at Kaiteriteri with his wife Emma Watkins and children when they noticed two young girls in trouble near the beach's lagoon just before 4pm.

He was boogie boarding with his son, riding the current of the outgoing tide, when one of the girls cried out for help, just before the other disappeared under the surface.

Swimmers near the tidal rip caused when the estuary empties after high tide.

'One of them went under so I pulled her out and the other one I was able to grab her by the arm and get her onto the boogie board.

'Tragedy was not far off in this situation, it was quite scary.'

While his son made it to shore, he estimated they were taken out about 200 metres and it took half an hour for them to get back in.

When they finally reached the beach, the girls were in shock and an older sister was in tears because she thought she had lost them.

Milburn said a number of people got caught in the rip which was caused by the outgoing tide from the lagoon and extended out about 300 metres.

The rescue efforts didn't end there. About a five minutes after bringing the girls to shore, it appeared a family was stuck in the rip.

'There was a whole family caught, they were screaming out for help and we were able to get them in as well.

'It was a pretty scary moment, for everyone on the beach.'

He worked with his wife and other beach goers to help bring the family to shore.

'We got someone to look after our little daughter, she was left with strangers while we were rescuing the people in the water.

'Collectively it was good work done by a lot of people but that said, it could have easily gone the other way very quickly.'

He said the family had holidayed in Kaiteriteri for the last five years and were aware of the strong current in the estuary during king, or spring tides.

Metservice showed high tide was at 12.23pm at a height of 4.6 metres on Wednesday. A 4.2m tide was forecast for 1.07pm Thursday and a 4.1m tide for 1.53pm on Friday.

Milburn said the girls were rescued from within the swimming zone and there were signs that warned people to watch out for the outgoing tide, but it was the strongest current that he had ever seen there.

'It was the swimmers without flotation devices that struggled.'

He said Kaiteriteri was a popular tourist spot and given his experience, feared a death could occur if the public were not informed of the risks.

Tasman district harbourmaster Dan Cairney said 'flood tides' presented issues for swimmers and boaties in the region as water carried much further into inlets.

As well as the stronger currents at Kaiteriteri, he was also aware of boats shifting from their moorings at Otuwhero Inlet, near Marahau.

Tasman District Council launch warden Ray Mockler has patrolled the waters around Kaiteriteri for the last 20 years.

Over the years, he had helped around 30 people who had got into strife from the outgoing tide, with 10 of those being serious.

'They get tired and suddenly can't swim and if we hadn't been there it might have been a bad result, but that hasn't happened yet thankfully.

'When it gets under 4m, it's not the same volume of water coming out here, but when you get the big tides I'm probably out there until it gets down to the stage they can stand up in the estuary.'

During the spring or king tide periods, he normally spent four hours a day patrolling in the bay as the tide retreated from the estuary.

'Sometimes there's about 400 people up in that area, and the kids like it up there.

'Once the water starts flowing out some of the older kids just float out with it and they're fine, but when some of these young ones that can't swim that well are on flutter boards and stuff like that, that's when you have the problems.

'It's not too bad, but some parents are a bit slack - they take them to the beach and literally lie down in the sand and let them go to it, which is not what it's about really.'