A rescue operation was launched after police were called for help at 1.40am yesterday. The man had been caught in the outgoing current in the Waikawa Harbour channel. Search and rescue co-ordinator Sergeant Ian Martin said the man, in his 20s, had been drinking with his mates before going swimming in the harbour. He managed to swim ashore on the opposite side of the harbour, before crossing farmland in Progress Valley. The search and rescue operation included the Waikawa Rural Fire Brigade, commercial fishers and a helicopter.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 03, 2017 16:07 UTC