Three people die in water incidents within five hours as holiday season starts

Tuesday, 27 December 2022

A person drowned in the Hutt River after going for a late night swim.

Three people have died in water-relater incidents over the span of five hours from Boxing Day into Tuesday morning.

Emergency crews were called to Cape Runaway, Ōpōtiki at about 7pm on Monday where a man was pulled from the water and given medical assistance. He died at the scene.

Later that same evening at about 9.30pm police went to a home in Pukekohe where a person was pulled from a body of water. Attempts to resuscitate them failed.

Then at around 12.15am a swimmer died in the Hutt River in Kaitoke Regional Park.

* Report shows 74 Kiwis drowned in 2021

They had failed to resurface during a swim, a police spokesperson said.

“The swimmer was recovered from the water and medical attention was administered, however tragically they were pronounced dead at the scene,” they said.

“Our thoughts are with their family and loved ones.”

On Christmas Day, a canoeist died on a Christchurch lake.

‘Have a really good look before you jump in’

Drownings were usually a combination of people “behaving badly” and adverse conditions, Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Daniel Gerrard said.

Last year’s festive holiday drowning figures were the worst in 40 years.

“First and foremost is men behaving badly. Over 80% of all fatalities are men and they are generally over 50 years old,” he said.

“Last holiday period there were 14 fatalities and that’s from 4pm on Christmas Eve through until 6am on January 4,” Gerrard said.

In 2022, half of the drowning fatalities have occurred while people were swimming, out on the water in a boat over 4m long and as a result of a fall into the water.

Gerrard said some measures could be taken to prevent fatal incidents, such as “avoid going out diving by yourself” or wearing a life jacket when fishing on a boat.

Rivers were as deadly as beaches.

“So, have a really good look before you jump in. An easy way to check whether it’s safe is to throw a stick into the river and if you can walk alongside it, then the water is going at a pretty hazard-less flow,” he said.

Men appeared to make the worst decisions when it came to water safety, he said.

“They could be younger men swimming at the beach getting caught in a rip while swimming outside the flags, or Pākeha men over 55 out in boats without a life jacket, or Māori men over 40 diving by themselves while gathering kai, or Asian males over 40 rock-fishing.

“Enjoy the beautiful waterways, but please have a think, and make some smart decisions. So everyone comes home this year,” Gerrard said.