Search for missing man goes into fourth day

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

The search resumed in Wairoa this morning for the fourth day for a man who went missing on Wednesday after a dinghy capsized near the mouth of the Wairoa River..

Two men were in the 2.5-metre-long aluminium dinghy when it flipped but only one managed to swim to shore and he alerted police about 5.30pm that afternoon.

The other man, a 57-year-old, disappeared in the river.

Police Search and Rescue, surf lifesaving IRBs from Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Manawatu, Wairoa LandSAR, Air Gisborne, and the Police National Dive Squad were involved in yesterday's search efforts along the lower reaches of the river.

Police said further searches would be conducted in the area today.

“Extra surf lifesaving, LandSAR and Police Search and Rescue staff joined the search efforts today, and the Police National Dive Squad was also expected to deploy.”