Hopes fade for missing whitebaiter

Hopes are fading of finding alive a whitebaiter swept out to sea on the South Island's west coast this morning.

The man was one of three whitebaiting near the mouth of the Okarito River, north of Franz Josef, when they were hit by a wave and carried downstream and out to sea around 9am.

The other two were rescued by jetboat and jetski and recovered after medical treatment.

"They were cold and had swallowed some water but were otherwise okay," said a police spokesman.

A search by helicopter and boaties for the missing man, who was wearing a wetsuit, had so far been unsuccessful.

He said the Solid Energy rescue helicopter and a local fixed wing aircraft were continuing to search an area of several square miles north and south of the Okarito River mouth and conditions for searching were good.

- NZPA