Search for missing man suspended for today

The search for a man missing, presumed drowned, after a boat sank off the coast of Foxton has been suspended for the day.

A 7.5 metre aluminium catamaran sank at approximately 6.30pm; it is believed to have been about 5km off the coast of Foxton. Between 3am and 3.30am a 45-year-old Levin man who had been aboard the boat managed to get ashore near Hokio Beach.

Extensive air, sea and land searches overnight and this morning failed to locate the other man, who was the 38-year-old skipper of the boat from Foxton. Low cloud and poor visibility also impacted on the air searches.

Central District Operations Manager, Inspector Dave White said: "The skipper would have been in the water for at least 18 hours now. The water temperature is no more than 13 degrees Celsius and unfortunately that makes survivability highly unlikely. Having spoken to the survivor and having sought advice from the Police Dive Squad we believe the best benefit will be to check the shoreline after high tide tomorrow."

Searches, including air support, will therefore continue at key times over the coming days in an effort to locate the missing man and his boat. The survivor will also be spoken to in detail over the next day or so Police can obtain as much information about the incident, the boat and the boat equipment.

Public using the beaches are advised that there is a potential for him to come ashore over the coming days.

The missing man is expected to be named later today once all family members have been notified. The survivor is recovering from his ordeal and at this stage he does not wish to be identified.