Coastguard Auckland and Waiheke respond to incident at Whites Bay

Waiheke Island, December 8 - Just before 1930 last night, Coastguard Auckland and Coastguard Waiheke volunteers were called to Whites Bay on Waiheke Island regarding a capsized vessel and people in distress.

Working in collaboration with the Police Eagle Helicopter and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter already present at the scene, Coastguard Auckland volunteers provided immediate medical assistance to two people onboard the Trillian Trust Rescue vessel before transporting them to shore.

Coastguard Waiheke was assigned to recover the vessel associated with the incident.

Coastguard Auckland skipper Bennett Medary: "On behalf of the Coastguard whānau, I'd like to extend my condolences and thoughts to the family and friends of those involved last night. It meant a great deal to the volunteers involved to arrive on scene in time to help save a life alongside other emergency services and members of the public.”

“I can't praise our Coastguard volunteers enough for their professionalism in what was a challenging situation and a tragic start to our summer on the water.”

With a hot, dry summer expected, Coastguard reminds all water-users to keep themselves and others safe. This means wearing lifejackets at all times when underway, checking the weather forecast and taking two forms of waterproof communications on every trip.

All further enquires are to be directed to Police.

ENDS 

For more information, contact
Ben Parsons 
Coastguard New Zealand Senior Communications Advisor 
[email protected] 
+64 21 756 405