Three fishermen who went missing while trying to catch a large bluefin tuna were found dead on New Zealand’s coast on Wednesday. The bodies were discovered near the town of Mahia, on the North Island’s east coast.
The search for the missing individuals, which included the coastguard and the defense force, was hampered by bad weather.
On Tuesday afternoon, a crew member of a freight vessel saw two men in the water.
However, due to the rough conditions, they were not able to rescue them.
Justin Allan, the operations manager of the Rescue Coordination Centre, said the vessel tried to help the men by offering them life rings and other rescue equipment.
A search was conducted in the area by a P-8A Poseidon, which later dropped a life raft.
However, the search was stopped at nightfall. On Wednesday, the police confirmed that the bodies found were those of the missing fishermen.
According to Roger Faber, the president of the Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club, the group had been fishing near Gisborne on Monday.
He said that they caught a large bluefin tuna over the weekend.
On the day of their trip, the weather was expected to be favorable, with winds of around 5 knots.
Unfortunately, the weather conditions didn’t improve as predicted.
When the group didn’t return home after fishing, they went back to the boat ramp to check on their boat.
Upon returning, they found its trailer still there. The three men were well-known and respected members of the fishing club.
The incident has caused the entire community to feel devastated.
The storm that hit the region caused extensive damage and prompted the evacuation of some coastal communities.
Several roads in the region were also closed due to the flooding and slips. Power outages were reported in various areas.
The region was severely hit by Cyclone Gabrielle in February, which resulted in the deaths of nine individuals.
The damage caused by the storm affected various infrastructure and properties.