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5 people dead from boat-whale collision in New Zealand
A charter fishing boat with 11 people on board is reported capsized by colliding with a whale off the Goose Bay in Kaikoura, New Zealand Saturday morning (Sep 10).
Five people are confirmed dead by the police. The boat overturned at about 10am this morning.
A rescue operation in the area has now been completed and five bodies have been recovered from inside the vessel.
The cause of the accident is still unclear but one local man fishing alone the coastline said that sea conditions in the morning were good and the sea was calm.
Police said the boat overturned after a "collision", but could not confirm what it collided with.
Kaikōura mayor Craig Mackle earlier said he believed the boat had collided with a whale.
"We have an upturned boat tipped over by a whale from what we can understand, come up from underneath.
"We've shut the harbour down so that they can carry on working."
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The capsized boat is now being towed to shore, after an hours-long rescue effort by rescue helicopters, dive squads and volunteers but the last three passengers on board remain unfound.
Kaikoura is a tiny coastal town famous for whale-watching in the South Island of New Zealand. It’s known for its abundant wildlife and its sperm whale population.
