The search for a missing elderly man who is missing after a vessel capsized at Manukau Heads yesterday afternoon has resumed this morning.
The 74 year-old hasn’t been seen since he and another man were thrown into the water at around 5pm last night. A nearby boat managed to pull one man from the water but the elderly man did not surface and Police hold grave fears for his safety.
Four members of the Police National Dive Squad arrived in Auckland from Wellington this morning, and have launched from the Te Toro boat ramp in Waiuku.
The capsized vessel sank and divers will search the area where the boat was last seen.
The Police Eagle Helicopter is continuing to do an aerial search of the area and it is anticipated that a Police LandSAR team will conduct a search of the coastline this afternoon at low tide.
Senior Constable Garry Larsen of the Police Maritime Unit says “The Police Eagle Helicopter resumed the aerial search at first light this morning, and a Police LandSAR team will do a search of the coastline this afternoon at low tide. This is obviously a very distressing time for this man’s family, and we’re doing as much as we can to support them”.
ENDS
Beth Bates/NZ Police