Search for man missing after West Coast jet boat crash temporarily suspended

Monday, 20 May 2019

A helicopter and other vehicles at the scene of a jet boat crash near Kumara on the West Coast on Friday.

The search for a man missing after a jet boat crash has been temporarily suspended due to conditions on the river.

Daniel McLellan-Skeggs, 29, was swept away after a jet boat crash on the Taramakau River, south of Greymouth, on Friday afternoon.

Matt Rogatski, left, and Heath Bagnell helped rescue one man from the Taramakau River following a jet boat crash on Friday afternoon, but were unable to save a second.

Police said on Monday that due to conditions on the river, the dive squad and ground crews had been put on hold. The search would be reassessed on Tuesday.

McLellan-Skeggs' partner wrote on Facebook on Sunday she hoped his body would be found so his family and friends could farewell him properly.

* Helicopter pilot tried in vain to save man washed away after West Coast jet boat crash**

'We have to find you, we have to bring you home to your family and friends.'

The father of two had 'touched so many hearts'.

'You were someone that could mix with so many circles and everyone loved you cause you're true and you're real and have such a big heart,' she wrote.

Ahaura Helicopter pilot Heath Bagnall and Matt Rogatski, who was providing ground support, were spraying weeds for the Department of Conservation when they noticed three men with a jet boat on Friday afternoon.

'[The jet boaters] went past me upstream,' Rogatski said. 'I heard the engine stop and then the third guy ran to his ute and grabbed a rope out of it. At that point I saw the two guys bobbing down the river calling for help.'

They saw one of the men trying to push himself out of the water.

He said the men were in the water for about 20 minutes by the time they reached them.

The river was flowing faster than usual and Bagnall had to lower the helicopter as close to the water as possible, while flying backwards and matching the speed of the current.

'I tried to grab [the man in the water] and missed his head by three inches,' Rogatski said.

'I tried to get my feet under his armpits but he had no strength to grab my legs and just slipped through. He just sank away.'

The second man managed to grab Rogatski's legs and Bagnall flew them to shore.

The area was about 7 kilometres from the mouth of the river. Landsar, Coastguard and Kotuku lifesaving members searched the river on Saturday, while a police dive squad joined the search on Sunday, but there was no sign of Skeggs.