By Dan Parker
Three whitebaiters were swept out to sea on the West Coast this morning, and while two have been rescued, hopes of finding the last one are fading with the light.
The drama began at nine at the small settlement of Okarito, around 170 kilometres south of Greymouth.
Okarito river mouth is famed for its whitebaiting and its surf, but the two combined dangerously this morning, sweeping three fishermen out to sea.
“Three of them there in trouble, two of them got out. One joker helped the two of them, but they couldn't get the third joker,” says whitebaiter Athol Olson.
The missing whitebaiter is a 76-year-old man from Christchurch, some of his family still haven't been told of the incident.
He was wearing a wetsuit when he was last seen being swept out to sea.
“Sad error actually, we came down for whitebaiting for the weekend and something like this happens and there's nothing you can do about it. I suppose if you go out in the water too far you get caught,” says Mr Olson.
The two rescued men were cold and had swallowed sea-water after being plucked from the ocean by locals in boats.
Police say the extensive search for the missing man is being helped by the tireless work of local volunteers, though some had resumed white baiting this afternoon.
“Locals spent a couple of hours in boats searching out in the seas this morning,” says constable Bill Parker, of the Franz Josef Police.
“Some coast guard staff were down here on holiday from Greymouth, they've spent a couple of hours searching with boats. Two helicopters have come in, [as well as] the rescue chopper and local heli services chopper.”
A coast air patrol plane from Kaikoura also helped but the aerial search has since been abandoned.
A land based search will resumed at first light tomorrow morning
3 News