Man drowns and tends to fish on Petone beach

A man’s cries for help alerted those on the shore of Petone Beach that something was wrong, but emergency services were unable to reach him before he drowned.

The man, in his 30s, died last night while tending a fishing net.

He was in a small inflatable boat without a life jacket.

The incident occurred fairly close to shore and was found and recovered by a team of Westpac helicopters and the Lady Elizabeth IV police launch.

Sergeant Richard Kennedy said the alarm was raised by people on the ground who heard cries for help.

The Greater Wellington Regional Council described the incident as a tragic and widespread sympathy for the man’s family.

Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder stressed the importance of always wearing a life jacket.

“This serves as a tragic reminder of the importance of being able to stay afloat if you land in the water.”

“In small boats it is easy to accidentally end up in the water, this means that a life jacket must be used.

“Any problem can be aggravated by darkness and this also makes it difficult to search for boats or people,” said Nalder.