Okere Falls death: Rafting company 'devastated'

Justin Hutton from River Rats Raft and Kayak. Photo / File

Staff at a rafting company are being given extra support after a person died at Okere Falls.

Police were called around 11.15am on Sunday to a person in difficulty near the falls just outside Rotorua.

It is believed to have been a medical event.

River Rats owner Justin Hutton confirmed the person who had died had been rafting with River Rats.

He couldn't go into any detail about the circumstances of the death and said the company had reached out to the family via the police to offer support in any way it could.

"We'd like to express our condolences to the family. We're absolutely devastated by what's happened and we're also working to support our staff through this."

Hutton has owned River Rats for 21 years and the company has not had any fatal incidents in that time. The company is not operating in the short term while it works to support staff and help police and Maritime New Zealand with investigations.

The person's death will be referred to the Coroner and police inquiries are continuing.

Police could not make any further comments on the incident as inquiries were in the initial stages.

A blessing is believed to have taken place at the river this morning. A Maritime NZ spokesperson said staff had gone to the scene on Sunday and were investigating the incident.

An investigation typically includes further interviews and reviewing documents, at which point the information gathered is assessed and a decision made about what, if any, further action Maritime NZ takes.