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Four people were injured after a boat accident on Queenstown’s Shotover River.
A Queenstown jet boat company suspended operations while investigating an accident on the lower Shotover River in which five people were airlifted to hospital.
Emergency services were called in on Sunday after a boat operated by the KJet adventure company was involved in an accident around a bend near Tucker Beach Rd, just north of where the Shotover empties into the Kawarau River.
Twelve people were treated by St John crews, including one seriously injured and four with moderate injuries who were airlifted to Lakes District Hospital.
Seven other people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
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Police were notified of the incident around noon, while firefighters were also called.
A KJet spokeswoman said a motorboat with two drivers was dispatched to the area immediately after learning of the accident.
KJet is working closely with all relevant authorities, including police, the Queenstown Lakes District Harbor Master and the Transportation Accident Investigation Commission, he said.
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KJet, which markets itself as New Zealand’s original jet boat ride, has been operating since 1958. (File photo).
“The company has also launched its own internal investigation and all operations were immediately suspended after the incident.
“[KJet is] supporting all passengers on board, their friends and family, as well as the driver involved in the incident. “
It was unclear when KJet would resume operations from Sunday afternoon, the spokeswoman said.
Dale Paterson, who lives near the crash site, said he was at home when he heard a knock that didn’t sound normal.
He went out to look and said he could see the jet boat resting on the river bank.
Paterson said he saw two people airlifted to the hospital, but both were able to walk to the helicopter and that the people involved in the crash did not appear to be seriously injured.
KJet markets itself as New Zealand’s original jet boat ride, operating since 1958.
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A KJet spokeswoman said a jet boat with two drivers was dispatched to the area immediately after learning of the accident. (File photo).
The accident is the second incident involving jet boats on the South Island in the past five days.
On Thursday, Gerard Nolan, 64, suffered eight broken ribs, a broken shoulder, a broken clavicle, a punctured lung and a broken hip after two jet boats crashed head-on in the Paringa River near Haast.
Two other passengers were unconscious.
In February, four people were injured when their jet boat capsized while emerging from an abyss in the Dart River near Queenstown after hitting a submerged log.
In 2019, nine people were injured when a boat run by Queenstown’s Skippers Canyon Jet crashed into a wall, while in 2009 a Chinese woman was killed and five members of her tour group were injured after a KJet boat capsized in a Kawarau river swollen.
KJet is among a number of jet boat companies operating in the area, and pressure on rival operator Shotover Jet’s exclusive rights in Queenstown’s famous canyons is mounting.
The company, owned by Ngāi Tahu Tourism, has exclusive rights to the Shotover River canyon section since 1987 under a concession agreement with the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
It has transported more than three million visitors since 1965 and has become one of the best-known tourist spots for adventure activities, with pop stars, sports teams and Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, in 2014.
However, swimmers, kayakers and whitewater rafters say the company has monopolized an accessible and useful stretch of water for far too long.
