Authorities say five people died Saturday in New Zealand after the small charter boat they were on capsized after colliding with a whale. Six more people on the boat were rescued.
According to police, the 8.5-meter (28-foot) boat capsized near the South Island town of Kaikoura. Police said they were still looking into what caused the accident.
Kaikoura Police Sergeant Matt Boyce described the incident as “devastating and unprecedented.”
“Our hearts go out to everyone involved, including the victims and their families, their communities, and emergency personnel,” Boyce said.
He stated that all of the victim’s bodies had been recovered by police divers. He stated that all six survivors were found to be in stable condition at a local health centre, with one being transferred as a precaution to a hospital in Christ church.
The water was calm at the time of the accident, according to Kaikoura Mayor Craig Mackle, and the assumption was that a whale had surfaced from beneath the boat.
He stated that there were some sperm whales in the area, as well as some humpback whales passing through.
Locals had assisted with the rescue efforts throughout the day, he said, but the mood in town was “sombre” because the water was so cold and they were concerned about the fate of anyone who had fallen overboard.
Given the number of whales in the area, Mackle said he had considered the possibility of a boat and whale colliding in the past.
“It’s always in the back of your mind that it could happen,” he said, adding that he was unaware of any previous such incidents.
According to Mackle, the boat was a charter vessel used for fishing excursions. According to the news site Stuff, the passengers were bird enthusiasts.
Police said they were still notifying the relatives of those who died and could not name the victims publicly.
Vanessa Chapman told Stuff that she and her friends had been watching the rescue efforts from Goose Bay, near Kaikoura. When she arrived at a lookout point, she saw a person sitting atop an overturned boat, waving their arms.
Two rescue helicopters and a third local helicopter were circling before two divers jumped out, according to her. She told Stuff that the person atop the boat had been rescued and that a second person had been pulled from the water.
Kaikoura is a popular whale-watching spot. The seafloor drops precipitously away from the coast, resulting in deep waters near the shore. Several companies offer boat rides or helicopter rides for tourists to get up close and personal with whales, dolphins, and other sea creatures.
Maritime New Zealand said it dispatched two investigators to the scene and would conduct a thorough investigation once the recovery operations were completed.
Principal Investigator Tracy Phillips stated that the agency “sincerely regrets the loss of the people who have died.”
