Boat driver out of ICU

The boat hit the wharf with considerable force, breaking one of the wooden piles, and getting hooked up underneath in the superstructure of the wharf. Photo / Gisborne Herald

A boat operator who collapsed at the wheel of his pleasure craft, which then hit a Gisborne harbour wall, is out of intensive care in Gisborne Hospital.

The 41-year-old man suffered what was described as a medical condition moments before his 8m aluminium boat slammed into the Gisborne harbour wharf on Sunday.

A hospital spokesman said the man was taken out of the ICU yesterday afternoon, and was in a general ward. Two girls on the boat with him suffered minor injuries and were treated and discharged from hospital on Sunday night.

- Gisborne Herald