Search for missing rafter on West Coast to continue on Wednesday

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Seventeen people from police, Land Search and Rescue and volunteers are helping with the search on Monday morning.

The search for a man who went missing after falling from a raft on a West Coast river will resume on Wednesday morning.

The man fell into the Ahaura River about 25 kilometres east of Ahaura village about noon on Sunday.

He was part of a private group of four travelling on two rafts, and was not reported missing until about 5.30pm due to communication issues in the area, a police spokeswoman said.

Volunteers, Land Search and Rescue personnel, and police scoured the riverbanks on Monday, while a jet boat searched along the river and a helicopter surveyed the area.

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The rafter fell into the Ahaura River at an area known as Griffin Flat, 25km upstream from the Ahaura bridge and township.

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The search resumed on Tuesday, with the Police National Dive Squad searching the river and police drone operators and a private jet boat assisting.

Nothing was found though and the search was put on hold on Tuesday evening.

It would resume on Wednesday morning, police said.