KEY POINTS:
Searchers have found the bodies of two people involved in a collision between a jet boat and a jet ski on the Kawarau River.
Anton Oskar Woitasek, 34, and Lawrence Brett Singleton, 51, went missing last night from the jet boat but were not discovered until this morning.
Their bodies were found about 1.5km from the Kawarau Dam in Central Otago, near where the collision occurred.
It is understood neither man was wearing a life jacket and both bodies were submerged.
Police and search and rescue staff are removing the bodies.
Two people people remain in a serious condition in hospital after the collision.
A man and his wife who heard the crash and called 111 said they heard a loud bang above the noise of their television and came out of their home, which overlooks the river, to hear "loud moaning".
"They were in real trouble," the man, who did not want to be named, said.
A massive search and rescue operation, including a helicopter and pilot with night-vision goggles, was stood down late last night after searching for the men in calm and mild conditions.
Senior Sergeant John Fookes, of Queenstown, said a private jet boat carrying three men on a fishing trip and a jetski carrying a man and a woman collided on a wide bend in the river at 7.30pm.
The survivor from the jet boat was taken to Lakes District Hospital with minor injuries.
The jetski passengers were treated at the scene before being taken by ambulance to Lakes District Hospital. They were later transported by helicopter to Dunedin Hospital with serious injuries.
The resident said the loud noise had startled him and his wife.
"I heard a commotion going on, a lot of words and yelling."
He called Queenstown harbourmaster Marty Black at 7.37pm while his wife called the emergency services.
Firefighters reported debris from the crash was scattered kilometres down the river.
Snr Sgt Fookes said the jet boat had been recovered. It was significantly damaged at the front and had sunk at the back. The jetski was left resting among reeds further up the river.
It is the third tragedy in as many months involving jet boats in the Queenstown area.
Paul Woods, a 29-year-old doctor from the UK, was killed when his jet boat flipped on the Matukituki River on Boxing Day.
In September the Kawarau Jet flipped while carrying 22 Chinese passengers after apparently hitting a sandbar where the Shotover and Kawarau Rivers meet. One woman was killed after being trapped under the boat.
RIVER FATALS
July 1981 - five people die when jet boats from Helijet and Goldstream collide just above the Arrow Junction.
November 1999 - One man dies and 11 are injured when a Shotover Jet hits a rockface.
September 2008 - One woman dies and eight taken to hospital after the Kawarau Jet flips.
December 2008 - UK doctor Paul Woods killed when the jet boat he is on flips on the Matukituki River on Boxing Day.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES, STAFF REPORTERS, NZPA
