Taupō water incidents prompt police warning
22 Dec, 2020 02:19 AM
2 minutes to read
Rotorua Daily Post
Police have issued a safety warning after two water incidents in the Waikato River, Taupō, last week, including one in which a man died.
On December 18, Taihape man Logan Ken Hughes, 18, died in hospital after trying to rescue a 12-year-old girl in trouble on the river.
Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said Hughes courageously jumped in before getting into trouble in the water.
Another person jumped in and helped the girl to safety.
Advertisement Later, in trying conditions, several rescuers worked tremendously hard to retrieve the 18-year-old from about 7m of water, Shepherd said.
“The attempted rescue was an instinctive display of humanity. “We send our condolences to his relatives.” Bay of Plenty Police have issued a safety warning after the tragedy, one of two incidents in the Waikato River at Taupō. Two days earlier, a group of teens was swimming downstream from the Taupō Control Gates Bridge. The group split up, and due to confusion and miscommunication, it was thought that one of them had got into difficulty. That prompted a full-scale search involving a helicopter. “Fortunately, the person thought to be in trouble was found to have already returned home. “While unrelated, these two events underline the risk this fast-flowing river presents to the public and rescue teams who are called in to help.”