Debbie Jaimeson/Stuff
Family of a missing swimmer at Lake Wakatipu, Glenorchy, wait as the National Police Dive Squad searches the water.
Signs warning people of the danger of swimming in a Central Otago lake have been posted a day after a second person in a week is believed to have drowned in the same spot.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council ordered the signs following the death of Wānaka man Linkin Kisling, who died last Friday while saving his 10-year-old son in Lake Wakatipu at the mouth of the River Rees in Glenorchy.
They put up the signs on Friday, a day after another swimmer went missing.
A council spokesman said it was “really devastating” to learn that a second person had drowned at the head of the lake so soon after the initial tragedy.
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Debbie Jaimeson/Stuff
New danger signs were posted on Friday following the death of Linkin Kisling in Lake Wakatipu, Glenorchy last week. They were set up a day after another swimmer went missing from the same spot.
“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the person’s friends and whānau, as well as the Glenorchy community who will of course share a sense of sadness, shock and loss.”
The issue of safety on our waterways was complex and involved several agencies and the wider community, they said.
“There is no single authority responsible for the choice people make to enter a body of water. However, the steps we’re taking to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again are a logical and practical way the council can help during this incredibly sad time.
Debbie Jaimeson/Stuff
Niki Gladding, Councilor of the Queenstown Lakes District and resident of Glenorchy, patrols the scene where a swimmer drowned and another is missing at Glenorchy, Lake Wakatipu.
The locals of Glenorchy took matters into their own hands to warn people about the deadly swimming spot and posted a handwritten sign with a simple message: No swimming..
A search began around 4 p.m. on Thursday after emergency services were alerted to a person in trouble in the water.
The national police diving squad arrived around 1 p.m. on Friday to search for the missing swimmer.
Debbie Jamieson/Stuff
A father has drowned and another person has gone missing in almost identical circumstances within a week near Glenorchy in Central Otago.
Glenorchy resident Niki Gladding, a councilor for the Queenstown Lakes District, said the community was upset, frustrated, angry, sad and exhausted.
So many people in the city were first responders and “it’s just call after call,” she said.
It was dangerous on the lakeshore, but two drownings in a week in the same spot was a new level of tragedy, she said.
The current of the river and a sudden drop off made it more dangerous. People also experienced a strong undertow, which she had never heard of. The only sign was one at the end of a wharf, but none related to the “relatively new” danger.
Both locals and tourists swam on site.
Debbie Jamieson/Stuff
Memorials on the beach where one person drowned and another remains missing within a week.
“It’s hot, it’s inviting, there’s shallow water, but when you get to the end of the shallow water, it goes straight down.”
Locals patrolled to warn people — they had already warned a few fishermen by Friday morning, she said.
More signs were expected and a community meeting was scheduled for Friday.
“My heart goes out to the families and friends of the two men who drowned in circumstances where they acted to save a life. It was very brave.”
Police said they were providing support to the missing person’s family.
NEW ZEALAND WATER SAFETY
It takes less than a minute for a child to drown, whether near a bathtub, swimming pool, river or ocean. Water Safety New Zealand reminds adults that active and constant supervision of minors saves lives.
in the North Island, one person died and another remains missing after a rescue effort involving a group of swimmers north of Whangamatā on Wednesday.
New Zealand had its worst annual drowning rate in a decade in 2022, with ppreliminary statistics from Water Safety New Zealand with 91 avoidable drownings for the year.