Kaikoura Tragedy: Pilot ‘didn’t see anyone in the water’

At the site of the Kaikoura charter boat capsize that killed five people, the pilot of the first rescue helicopter says there was no one in the water when he arrived.

Kaikoura pilot Daniel Stevenson said, “This is terrible. You don’t want to see people in the water.”

An 8.5 meter boat with 11 people capsized off Goose Bay just after 10am today.

Five people were killed and six survived in the “collision” accident, police confirmed at a press conference this afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Kaikoura Mayor Craig Muckle said he believed the boat had hit a whale, but police did not confirm this.

Police divers recovered the five who did not survive and are now undergoing a formal identification process.

Passengers were thought to be part of a group of bird-lovers who had chartered a boat for the morning.

South Pacific Helicopters owner Stevenson was listening to maritime radio at work when he heard the ship had capsized.

“I called the local police to see if they could help me and took off to see the boat and see if there were any people in the water,” he said.

The flight time to the capsized boat was less than 4 minutes from the helicopter base and less than 200m offshore.

“When we arrived, the boat had flipped over and there was a man sitting in the boat,” Stevenson said.

He then flew around the boat looking for anyone floating in the water, but found none.

Just before he arrived, a tour boat arrived on the scene, grabbed the first group of people outside the boat, and brought them back to Kaikoura.

According to Stevenson, five people were rescued, one sitting in the overturned hull of the hull.

The Coast Guard soon arrived. They jumped into the water, but were unable to get under the boat and called for divers.

Stevenson returned to Kaikoura, picked up a diver, and hovered beside the upturned ship.

“They jumped out of the helicopter into the water to see if there were anyone trapped on board,” Stevenson said.

Three rescue helicopters were dispatched to the scene, one in Wellington and two Westpac Rescue Helicopters from Christchurch.

According to Stevenson, Kaikoura’s sea conditions were ideal, with light swell and little wind, “a perfect day for boating.”

He was whale watching in a fixed wing plane so there were whales in the area.

“There was a humpback whale fairly close by.”

The place where the accident occurred in the water is 20-30m deep, and the gorge just below is down to 500m.

This tragedy is a heavy blow to Kaikoura and deeply felt by the residents.

“For a town like Kaikoura that depends on tourism, that’s not very good. It’s going to be the talk of the town. Everyone knows each other and there are quite a few charter flights.

“At first everyone thinks they’re friends or something. It’s a very close-knit community when it comes to things like that.”

It is believed that they were on charter ships from all over New Zealand.

Police were unable to find out who the charter was operated by. The captain was taken to hospital, but police do not believe he was injured.

“Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of the deceased,” the Coast Guard said.

Maritime NZ principal investigator Tracy Phillips said the organization had sent two investigators from Christchurch to Kaikoura.

“Investigative efforts will only begin after rescue/recovery operations have been completed. Do the research.”

Muckle previously said he felt sick as the case unfolded.

Cods and Crays fish and chip shop Richard Hill told RNZ that he had previously worked with the captain.

“He’s a very safe guy. He’ll never take a risk. So I thought there must be some kind of anomalous quality. It’s a really sad day for Kaikoura, and just I’m shocked.

Kaikoura District Council Member Lisa Bond said the incident was “incredibly heartbreaking”.