Police have released the name of the person who died in an accident near Haast on Friday. He was Phillip Lee Mitchell, aged 44 from Hannah's Clearing, Haast. His body was recovered from the Okuru River following a car crash. The man was located in the river approximately 1km downstream from the vehicle crash site. Police thanked Land SAR trained volunteers from Fox Glacier and Haast for all of their help, as well as the Haast community, and have extended their sympathies to the victim's family.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 30, 2017 06:33 UTC