Raft company clear

Press, 11 January 1986, Page 2

Raft company clear

Any further action is unlikely concerning a rafting accident on the Rangitata River, last Sunday, in which two Geraldine men were knocked unconscious.

The Marine Division of the Ministry of Transport in Christchurch, which held an official inquiry into the accident, is satisfied the Rangitata River Rafts Company followed the required code of practice. The accident report was sent to the Marine Division head office in Wellington yesterday.

The regional surveyor of ships, Mr W. Mockett, said the company had fulfilled equipment requirements, had thorough first-aid knowledge, and had given all passengers adequate instruction before the rafting trip. Although the company's helicopter was out of action on the day of the accident its contingency plan of obtaining a helicopter from Mount Hutt station was adequate. At the time of the accident, the two raft leaders

were busy attending to the two unconscious men and were unable to take a head count. The passenger asked to take a head count counted incorrectly. “This is something the raft operators will have to look more carefully at now. They may have to choose two people to take head counts.”

There have been eight deaths in commercial rafting accidents in New Zealand since 1974, when commercial rafting began.