Family and friends wait for news on missing fisherman Ielu Faiao. Photo / Martin Sykes
The body of a 33-year-old Manurewa man who went missing during a fishing trip on Auckland's Manukau Harbour on Saturday evening has been found.
Search leader Sergeant Dene Duthrie confirmed the body was found early this afternoon where the boat went down at Bottle Top Bay, 7km west
of Papakura.
The dead man was Ioielu Faiao, who was boating with his cousin, Miki Ah Chong.
It is believed a wave came over the bow and swamped the boat, about 4pm.
Mr Ah Chong survived the incident.
Mr Duthrie said the message to boaties was clear - don't mix alcohol with boating. It was highly likely that alcohol affected Mr Faiao's ability to swim, and the fact that he wasn't wearing a life jacket also added to the danger.
"The same message we keep telling people time and time again is alcohol and boating don't mix, the same as alcohol and driving. And wear a life jacket. We continually keep saying it but people just don't listen," Mr Duthrie told
Grieving relatives yesterday kept vigil at Bottle Top Bay as police searched for Mr Faiao.
Police said neither of the men had been wearing life jackets.
Mr Duthie said officers had spoken to Mr Ah Chong, but had not been able to get a clear account of what happened.
"The two men had been drinking quite a bit of alcohol."
Mr Ah Chong had searched the beach for his cousin following the accident, finally alerting police about 7pm on Saturday.
Mr Faiao's partner of two years, Vaosa Sanele, told the Herald she had been sitting at the water's edge since Saturday evening, hoping for his return.
Pine Faiao, 34, who drove three hours from his Te Kuiti home to the Manukau Harbour, said his brother could swim and had been hopeful that he was still alive.
"We are hoping that his wealth of knowledge of the sea and its surrounds will keep him alive," she told the Herald this morning.
Mr Faiao said the family moved to New Zealand from Samoa 12 years ago and that his brother enjoyed his job at a magazine printing factory in Manukau.
"Fishing is not something new to him - it's his love, and every summer he takes the boat out a couple of times a week."
