Freak wave sweeps man

Press, 2 May 1988, Page 8

Freak wave sweeps man

PA Invercargill A Mataura freezing worker is missing, presumed drowned, after a freak wave swept him off The Brothers rocks near Progress Valley yesterday. • The man, Michael Joseph Savage Rangi, aged 53, and his friend, Raymond Richard Williams, of Gore, had planned a day cod fishing off the popular spot on the rocks. Constable Peter May, of the Wyndham police, said the two men knew the seas were rough and were apprehensive about fishing from the rocks. They had waited for about 10 minutes, watching the waves, before they decided to put their rods in the water, he said. They then walked down and thought they would try a little fishing for half an hour, and if the rough seas continued they would head home. Mr Richards had just

put his line in the water, when he saw a freak wave come up towards Mr Rangi, who was on a spot lower on the rocks. “He yelled to ‘watch out’ but it was too late,” Constable May said. Mr Rangi was swept out to sea, at 8.45 a.m. His friend told a nearby farmer of the accident, and he then told the police. The police sent out an aircraft. Sea and land searches were made throughout yesterday, but Mr Rangi was not found. Sea and land searches will continue today if the conditions improve. The Brothers is a popular spot for fishermen because of the “good waters,” and the two men had fished there together before. But the spot also has a treacherous reputation. Thirty years ago, two persons were swept into the sea while fishing from the rocks. Their bodies recovered.