Rescued trio used plastic bottles in river float

A group of people attempted to float down the Waikato River using nothing but empty plastic bottles and a child’s kickboard for floatation, prompting Taupō police to renew water safety calls this summer.

Police were alerted that the trio might be in danger after a family member called to report they were overdue from the river float on Wednesday evening, said Search and Rescue Senior Constable Barry Shepherd.

The three, a 34-year-old man, 19-year-old woman and a 16-year-old man, were visiting from another area, said Shepherd, and appeared to have decided to attempt a river float on a whim using what they had to hand.

They entered the Waikato River, where an under-equipped school group were rescued last month, with only a pool floatation aid suitable for a small child and two empty 1.5 litre plastic bottles.

Although they were ultimately unharmed, the group were in the water for longer than they had planned, which prompted their family to call police.

After being notified about 6pm, the Coastguard and harbourmaster were activated but ultimately stood down as the swimmers were retrieved by passing kayakers.

The three were wearing only swimming togs and had been in the water for some time, Shepherd said.

“They took much longer than they expected. They were damn cold. They were caught in the nick of time … if no one had been there, it might have been a different outcome.”

Shepherd said emergency services would prefer people did not attempt the river float at all, but acknowledged “we can’t stop people going in the river [or] making spur of the moment decisions”.

However, he said, people needed to at least take basic measures to ensure their safety.

“If people are going to do the float, they need buoyancy vests, they need to stick together and they need to make good decisions.”

News of the latest incident comes after Water Safety New Zealand released its report on preventable drownings in 2023, which included 16 deaths in the Waikato region.

Although statistics are not kept for people attempting the river float, Water Safety New Zealand’s research found a concerning number of boat users are not regularly wearing lifejackets.

“Research shows more than a quarter (27 percent) of boaties surveyed aren’t ensuring everyone on board has a lifejacket that fits them, and, while 86 percent of children are wearing a correctly fitting lifejacket, a third of adults (33 percent) are not wearing them the entire time they’re on the water.”

Shepherd made no bones about the importance of safety on the water.

“People who make good decisions generally don’t drown.”