Oamaru whitebaiter and father of 2-year-old dies

Bruce Cawley holds a photo of his stepson, Craig Andrew, who has died after being swept out to sea last month. Photo / Kayla Hodge

Oamaru whitebaiter Craig Andrew has died after being swept out to sea off the Waitaki River mouth last month.

Andrew - who is survived by a 2-year-old daughter - was flown to Dunedin Hospital in a critical condition on Thursday, October 22.

Police this morning confirmed Andrew had since died.

A tribute to Andrew was posted to social media on Friday last week. Police did not confirm when Andrew died.

The 40-year-old suffered a heart attack mid-flight on the way to Dunedin Hospital and at the time his stepfather, Bruce Cawley, described his condition as "50:50".

Andrew was dragged 3km out to sea off the north side of the Waitaki River mouth.

Emergency services were alerted to the accident by a whitebaiter on the south side.

Waitaki River was Andrew's favourite whitebaiting spot.

Cawley described his stepson as a down-to-earth man, and said his 2-year-old daughter was the "sparkle of his life".

The incident comes after a whitebaiter in the same area survived after being swept out to sea three weeks earlier.

The man was wearing a lifejacket and made it back to shore unaided.