'Wear your life jacket' - message from police after Christmas Day tragedy on Christchurch lake

Monday, 26 December 2022

Police search for a person who failed to resurface after a canoe with two onboard capsized on Lake Rua in Christchurch on Christmas Day.

“Wear your life jacket.”

That is the message from police after a canoeist is suspected to have drowned in a Christchurch lake on Christmas Day.

At about lunchtime, the Police National Dive Squad found the body of the missing canoeist at Lake Rua in Roto Kohatu Reserve – a popular destination for walkers, swimmers, kayakers, and jet skiers on the outskirts of McLeans Island in Harewood.

Family had gathered on Monday morning at the reserve to wait for news and police were supporting them, a spokesperson said.

Lake Roto Kotahu on McLeans Island Recreation Area is closed to the public while police search for a missing canoeist.

Cyclists and vehicles are turned away from accessing the Roto Kohatu Reserve while police search for the missing canoeist.

Two people were in the canoe when it capsized in the man-made fresh water lake about 6.50pm.

One was rescued, but the other failed to resurface after falling into the water.

The immediate area was searched, but the missing person was not found.

Search and Rescue officer in charge, Detective Constable Cameron Ellis, couldn’t confirm if the canoeist wore a life jacket, but said the incident was “preventable”.

“Wear your life jacket,” he said.

The lake was about 6 to 7 metres deep, he said.

A council ranger was stationed at the entrance to the reserve to turn people away.

Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Daniel Gerrard said drownings were usually a combination of people “behaving badly” and adverse conditions.

Last year’s festive holiday drowning figures were the worst in 40 years.

“First and foremost is men behaving badly. Over 80% of all fatalities are men and they are generally over 50 years old,” he said.

“Last holiday period there were 14 fatalities and that’s from 4pm on Christmas Eve through until 6am on January 4,” Gerrard said.

In 2022, half of the drowning fatalities occurred while people were swimming, out on the water in a boat over 4m long and as a result of a fall into the water.

Gerrard said some measures could be taken to prevent fatal incidents, such as “avoid going out diving by yourself” or wearing a life jacket when fishing on a boat.

Rivers were as deadly as beaches.

“So, have a really good look before you jump in. An easy way to check whether it’s safe is to throw a stick into the river and if you can walk alongside it, then the water is going at a pretty hazard-less flow,” he said.

Men appeared to make the worst decisions when it came to water safety, he said.

“They could be younger men swimming at the beach getting caught in a rip while swimming outside the flags, or Pākeha men over 55 out in boats without a life jacket, or Māori men over 40 diving by themselves while gathering kai, or Asian males over 40 rock-fishing.

'Enjoy the beautiful waterways, but please have a think, and make some smart decisions. So everyone comes home this year,” Gerrard said.