Close call for three on river

Two women aged 19 and 20 and a man aged 19, all from Taupo, had a lucky escape from the Waikato River at the Aratiatia Rapids this afternoon.

The trio were wading through rock pools downstream from the Aratiatia Dam at about 4pm when the control gates on the dam opened. During the summer the gates open four times a day at 10am, noon, 2pm and 4pm to allow tourists to see the rapids as they were before the Waikato River hydro scheme was developed.

The two women were swept away by the rapidly rising river level but the man was able to stay on a rock. Police were alerted by tourists at the rapids lookout, watching the drama unfold.

A search and rescue response was quickly arranged but fortunately the women were rescued by safety kayakers working with a movie crew filming at the rapids today. The kayakers had also alerted Aratiatia Power Station staff about the drama and the gates were quickly shut down.

The young man waited on the rock until the river level subsided then walked out of the riverbed. They had parked at the Dam and walked down a track to the river to go for a swim. Despite being locals they were unaware they were risking their lives by going into the river bed - there are ample signs at the Aratiatia Dam warning of rapidly rising water levels.

The two young women owe their lives to the kayakers who pulled them from the river - they were quite candid when acknowledging that fact.