Five people died Saturday in New Zealand when the tiny charter boat they were on capsized, perhaps due to a collision with a whale, according to police. Six further boat passengers were rescued.
According to police, the 8.50-meter (28-foot) boat capsized near the South Island village of Kaikura. The police stated that they were continuing their investigation into the accident’s cause.
Sergeant of Police in Kaikura, Matt Boyce, described it as a catastrophic and unprecedented event.
Saturday, September 10, 2022, a helicopter flies over an overturned boat with a survivor sitting on the hull off the coast of Kaikoura, New Zealand. A boat capsized after colliding with a whale in New Zealand. (AP Image) / AP
Boyce stated, “Our sympathies are with all parties concerned, particularly the victims and their families, their local communities, and the emergency services personnel.”
He stated that police divers had recovered all of the deceased. According to him, all six survivors were determined to be in stable condition at a local health center, with one being taken to a hospital in Christchurch as a precaution.
Mayor of Kaikura Craig Mackle told the Associated Press that the water was completely still at the time of the accident and that a whale is presumed to have surfaced beneath the boat.
According to him, there were both sperm whales and humpback whales in the vicinity.
The mood in the village was “sombre” since the water was so icy and they feared for the fate of anyone who had gone overboard, according to him.
Mackle stated that he had considered the likelihood of a collision between a boat and a whale in the past, given the number of whales that visit the region.
“It’s always possible,” he added, adding that he had never heard of a such accident occurring previously.
Mackle stated that the vessel was a standard charter vessel used for fishing excursions. According to Stuff, the passengers belonged to a group of bird aficionados.
Police died that they were still notifying the deceased’s family and were unable to identify the victims at this time.
Vanessa Chapman told Stuff that she and a group of friends observed the rescue operations from Goose Bay in Kaikura. She stated that when she got at a vantage point, she could see a person waving their arms from atop an upturned boat.
She reported that two rescue helicopters and a third local chopper were circling the area before two divers jumped out of the water. She told to Stuff that the person atop the boat had been rescued and that a second person appeared to have been retrieved from the water.
Kaikura is a renowned location for whale viewing. The seafloor drops off abruptly from the coast, resulting in deep water close to the beach. A number of companies offer boat excursions and helicopter rides so that guests can observe whales, dolphins, and other marine life up close.
Maritime New Zealand, a compliance agency, stated that it had dispatched two investigators to the location and will conduct a full examination after recovery operations completed.
Principal Investigator Tracy Phillips stated that the agency “offers its most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased.”
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