Dramatic rescue saves fishermen

Press, 29 January 1988, Page 5

Dramatic rescue saves fishermen

Two men were rescued from the surf at the mouth of the Rakaia River yesterday, after being washed from a shingle bank by a large wave. The incident was related to “The Press” last evening by one of the rescuers, a Christchurch man who asked not to be named. He knew one of the pair, a Christchurch man, aged 79. He could not identify the second, but said he was a similar age. “I think they were darn lucky to get out,” he said. The two men were among about 30 people fishing from a shingle spit on the north side of the rivermouth, when they

were hit by a wave. A second wave hit before they could regain their feet and they were washed into the lagoon on the landward side of the spit. From there, they were being washed out to sea by the river current, but the rescuer and several others managed to grab one man and haul him to safety. The second man was washed about 25m out to sea and was rescued only because people ashore were able to attract the attention of a jet-boat driver returning to the rivermouth from a fishing trip. The jet-boat driver was

alone in the boat and could not leave the controls to haul the elderly man aboard, but he was able to reach across and help him to hang on to the windscreen supports while he brought the boat to shore. He was praised for his skill in risking his boat by bringing it in through the surf. Both men were "pretty shocked” by their ordeal, which happened about 11.30 a.m., but neither needed medical attention. The man, aged 79, was believed to be staying last night in a caravan at Rakaia and was expected to return to Christchurch today.