A rahui has been placed on fishing and recreational activities at the site where three people died when a boat capsized on the Riverton bar on Saturday. A member of Riverton Coastguard said it was the most deadly drowning on the bar in the more than 60 years the organisation had operated. Riverton Coastguard on-scene controller Noel Anderson said the boat had been coming back into Riverton following a blue cod fishing trip in Foveaux Strait. "Since that time there has never been a triple drowning on the Riverton bar, and that happened [on Saturday]. Mr Anderson said there was "always a risk" crossing a river bar by boat, but he believed the Riverton bar was "one of the safest bars within New Zealand".

Source: Otago Daily Times August 04, 2024 16:33 UTC