Recovery of ditched aircraft off Kawhia release IX
A significant step but there's still a lot of work to be done is how Waikato Police describe the retrieval of a body from the wreckage of a plane lying on the ocean floor off Kawhia today.
District Operations Manager, Inspector John Kelly, said today, Navy divers completed five dives on the site and that about noon recovered one body from the wreckage.
"Because of the sensitivities surrounding this multi-agency operation, Police will not be able to confirm any details about this person until the body has been formally identified.
"Police are currently working on behalf of the Coroner in relation to this and the person's body was bought to shore this afternoon with the assistance of the Coastguard and will be transported to Auckland for a post-mortem examination to be carried out on Monday."
Commanding officer of the Operational Dive Team (ODT), Lieutenant Commander Trevor Leslie, said the environmental conditions faced by the divers include various sized swells, strong bottom currents and significantly reduced visibility below the surface.
"These conditions, combined with diver entanglement hazards and the inherent risks associated with diving to this depth are just some of the challenges facing the ODT divers"
Both men confirmed that though challenging, the right people with the right resources were on hand to complete the operation successfully.
End
