Fishermen find body at sea

Andrew and Ben Gay found a body believed to be that of missing Sudanese student Dau Atem when they were collecting cray pots off the coast of Pourerere Beach yesterday. Photo / Glenn Taylor

Two crayfishers who yesterday found a body believed to be missing Sudanese man Dau Atem hope his friends and family will now have some closure.

The Massey University student, 22, who moved to New Zealand from South Sudan more than 10 years ago, had not been seen since leaving a Shoal Bay bach in Aramoana where he was staying with friends.

Eleven days after he walked into the dark night and didn't return, crayfishers Andrew and Ben Gay noticed something in the water and called police.

They made the gruesome discovery while gathering cray pots 3km south of Pourerere Beach before 7.30am, yesterday.

Andrew said: "I said to Ben, 'what was that?' It looked like a body in the water."

Doubling back, their worst fears were realised and they waited two hours before the Hawke's Bay Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter arrived with a diver.

The body still had to be formally identified using dental records and DNA and the matter has been referred to the coroner.

As Pourerere Beach residents, the fishermen had seen search crews desperately scouring the beach and surrounding farmland since Mr Atem's disappearance.

"We spoke to the family, they came from Wellington and stayed at a house in Aramoana; they were out searching all the time. I just hoped they would find him in Palmerston North, having a beer.

"It's certainly not good, but it is some closure for the family."

Andrew recalled a couple of divers had gone missing along the stretch of coastline, but said this scenario was different.

Pourerere Beach Caravan Park caretaker Geoff Karaitiana believed a rahui would be put in place for diving and swimming, but was not sure when or for how long. People had been staying out of the water, regardless.

Last February Hastings man Barney Leon Akurangi, 34, drowned while diving on the same coast. He knew the area and was an able swimmer.

"[Mr Atem's] body was found in the same place as the last death we had," Mr Karaitiana said.

Mr Atem's friends and family left the beach in convoy some time after lunch. They met at a Waipukurau service station, where a poster for the missing man was still pinned to the wall.

His brother told Hawke's Bay Today the family did not want to speak with media at this stage.

The body's discovery came after police search-and-rescue teams were called to Blackhead Beach, about 7km south of Pourerere Beach, on Monday when a mystery object was sighted in the sea.

But hours of searching found nothing and the operation came to an end.