Kaikōura boat tragedy: Photography society pays tribute to five dead

One person is still in a stable condition in hospital after five people from the Nature Photography Society of New Zealand died when a boat capsized at Goose Bay yesterday.

An investigation is under way in Kaikōura as officials work out how a 8.5m charter boat capsized with 11 people on board.

Five people were found dead when emergency services responded to the incident.

Police said today the remaining six were assessed by medical personnel, and one was transferred to Christchurch Hospital as a precaution, where they remain in a stable condition.

The vessel has now been recovered and will be examined as part of a number of investigations involving a range of agencies.

Police said formal identification procedures were still ongoing, and they could not confirm the identities of the dead yet.

“Police’s focus remains on supporting everyone involved, including the victims and their families, their local communities, and emergency services personnel.”

In a Facebook post, the society said it was saddened by the tragic loss at sea that took the lives of five of its members.

The group said it did not yet know what caused the vessel to capsize and that would be addressed by Maritime NZ in due course.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Maritime NZ spokesperson said investigators had commenced inquiries to establish the cause of the accident.

“This will involve reviewing the conditions on the day, examining the vessel and interviewing people involved.

“We will conduct our investigation with the utmost sensitivity for those involved.”

Maritime NZ will work with police and Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC).

“The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are still to be established.”

No more information was available at this stage, they said.

TAIC said in a statement it wanted to hear from anyone who witnessed the capsize, or recorded what happened before, during or after the incident. Anyone with information is urged to email TAIC at info@taic.org.nz

Goose Bay near Kaikōura.
Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee

The 8.5-metre boat, which had 11 people on board from all around the country, overturned at about 10am Saturday 10 September.

The six survivors were taken to Kaikōura Health Centre to be assessed, and one was transferred to Christchurch Hospital as a precaution.

Yesterday, Kaikōura mayor Craig Mackle said he believed the boat had collided with a whale.

“We have an upturned boat tipped over by a whale from what we can understand, come up from underneath.”

Auckland boating enthusiast and business owner Penny Whiting said the community was shaken.

“Until Maritime New Zealand have done their findings, it’s pretty hard to summise what actually went wrong and what happened, but I do know that the big whales migrate that coast at this time of year.

Police and Maritime New Zealand say it’s too early to know if a whale was involved.