Seaman lost overboard

Press, 14 May 1981, Page 4

Seaman lost overboard

$ A Japanese factory ship searched for two hours for a seaman who went overboard off Kaikoura yesterday before alerting the New' Zealand authorities, according to search and rescue officials. The man was lost overboard from the Hiyo Maru about 11 a.m., 55 km east of the Kaikoura Peninsula. Awarua Radio picked up a message from the ship about 1 p.m. The rescue co-ordination centre al Christchurch Airport went into action, and a

Royal New Zealand Air Force Friendship took off from Wigram just after 2 p.m. The surface search for the seaman by his own ship was joined by the naval patrol vessel! H.M.N.Z.S. Pukaki. which had been only 29 miles away from the Hiyo Maru. and was in the search area by 3 p.m. The Friendship searched for two hours and the two ships until darkness fell, but without success. A fairly big sea. whipped

up by a 25-knot southerly, was running when the man * went overboard. ! The regional controller of i search and rescue for the |. Civil Aviation Division of the I Ministry of Transport in Christchurch, Mr W. Gifford, f said that searchers had been I given an accurate "fix” by the master of the Hiyo Maru. No further search was planned, however. "It happened so far out that the body probably won't even be washed up. It is over to the police now,” said Mr Gifford.

He said that the Hiyo * Maru's master had reported t "a sea state six, which is 5 pretty rough,” when the I search began. | Whitecaps had made the f air search difficult. The | water temperature in the I search area was 11 deg C. Mr Gifford said that the Hiyo Maru had been working with squid boats off the east coast of the South Island. It was not known how the man had been lost, or whether the ship intended to put into port.