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An old shipwreck off the coast of Timaru may have claimed another life, 49 years after it sank and killed its entire crew of 15.
Two days of searching have failed to find any trace of diver Kevin Winston Bailey, 63, of Blenheim, who disappeared yesterday while surfacing from a dive on the wreck of the coastal trader, Holmglen.
The three-year-old, 490-tonne Holmglen sank in 55m of water nearly 36km south east of Timaru on November 24, 1959.
None of the crew of 15 survived although three bodies were found floating in the water.
Mr Bailey was diving on the wreck with two mates and they were ascending from 60 metres when they stopped on a decompression break at 12 metres.
Two made it to the surface but there was no sign of Mr Bailey.
Weather and sea conditions were ideal and today two helicopters and two coastguard vessels joined the search after six boats had searched a large area around the Holmglen wreck yesterday.
A coastguard fixed wing aircraft joined the search about 4pm today and the search was expected to continue throughout the evening and will be reassessed tomorrow morning.
Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) spokesman Ross Henderson said Mr Bailey was an experienced diver but his diving buddies had no idea if he was in trouble before he surfaced or if he just became separated and reached the surface by himself, only to disappear.
He said it was difficult to say how long the search would last.
In February 2006 former navy diver Robert Hewitt, astonished experts by surviving 75 hours lost at sea.
He later said he had hallucinations, believing he was home with his fiance and children, and at one stage contemplated suicide.
He went missing on a diving expedition near Porirua and was found near where he disappeared after drifting about 27km to the north and then back to near Mana Island, off the west coast north of Wellington, where his ordeal had begun.
Mr Henderson said today every case was different and a decision could not yet be made on when to end the search for the missing diver off Timaru.
"We want to give people the best chance as we can, get the helicopters, the boats and the resources out there and work the area methodically, carefully and patiently," Mr Henderson said.
"The best we can do at the moment is keep that search going and keep re-evaluating as we go."
The wreck of the Holmglen is a popular dive site.
Its sinking in 1959 was a maritime mystery and an official inquiry could not find a cause.
The wreck was examined by the navy using a remote underwater vessel in 1999. It was sitting upright with no obvious damage that could have caused it to founder.
The Holmglen was only three-years-old and was heading from Dunedin to Wanganui in moderate to rough sea with a strong southerly wind.
It sent out a mayday (emergency radio signal) at 9.12pm on November 24, and a radio message from the captain saying it was heeling heavily to port, the accommodation was awash and they were taking to the boats.
Nothing was heard again and a search later found debris and three bodies.
The ship sank very quickly but the later court of inquiry found it was not because of an internal explosion, a hull leak when plates had opened, a collision, or by hitting the ship rocks.
It also found it was not overloaded and its general cargo of 300 tonnes was properly stowed.
It suggested the heavy heeling of the ship could have been caused by water entering through her openings, her deck cargo moving, the weight of water in the poop deck because of the following sea, or instability.
The court also accepted evidence that the Holmglen was a bad ship for steering and that her sail was used to prevent her from yawing, to keep her steady on her course and to steady her from rolling.
The court also said had the ship been fitted with inflatable liferafts in addition to its two boats, some of the crew may have survived.
- NZPA
