KEY POINTS:
The jet boat and jet ski involved in a fatal collision on the Kawarau River on Monday night appear to have collided head on, Queenstown police say.
Two people died in the collision and two others were last night in a serious condition in Dunedin Hospital.
The two
dead men were Anton Oskar Woitasek, 34, project manager, of Lake Hayes, and Laurence Brett Singleton, 51, contractor, of Queenstown.
Their bodies were recovered from the river by police divers about 10am yesterday, metres from where the accident happened about 7.30pm on Monday.
"It would appear the jet boat was travelling upstream and the other [vessel] in more or less the opposite direction," Senior Sergeant John Fookes, of Queenstown, said.
The rules of the Kawarau River require vessels to keep to the right side of the river, Queenstown harbourmaster Marty Black said.
"Upstream traffic gives way to traffic going downstream," he said.
"They are the rules and should be obeyed. People not obeying the rules are the issue.
"I would expect people who are experienced boaties ... boaties should follow the rules and the sad part about it is, they don't."
Mr Black had a "reasonable idea" of what happened in the collision, but because it was subject to investigation, he was unable to comment further.
It has emerged that an unsuccessful fishing trip provided the impetus for the jet boat ride that ended in tragedy.
Mr Woitasek's fishing trip with his 10-year-old son on Sunday did not produce a catch.
So the next day he suggested to friend Mr Singleton that they make for the Kawarau River to "try to get the ones he had missed".
With Mr Singleton's brother, Paul Singleton, the decision to fish the river on Brett's jet boat initially seemed a good one.
But as the group rounded a wide bend, a jetski carrying two people appeared from behind willow trees.
Mr Singleton, who was at the helm, tried to avoid the craft but he had no time after it came out suddenly and the machines collided.
"Paul just said it was an absolute split second," said Mr Woitasek's widow, Sarah.
"That all of a sudden there was this jetski right about to crash into them,"
Mr Woitasek and Brett Singleton were thrown from the boat and the jetskiers, aged 19 and 21, were thrown from their machine. Paul Singleton was thrown about 2m into the air in the collision and landed back on the jet boat.
"He stood up, looked around and never saw Anton or Brett," Mrs Woitasek said.
"First thing he saw was the jetskiers. The guy was right beside the boat and he just yanked him in and he could see he had a very broken leg. And then he could see the woman ...
"He took his boots off and went in and got her. And he pulled her in and he said she was just absolutely blue and had a big lump on her head," she said.
Police and Maritime New Zealand are investigating the collision.
It appears neither of the two men killed was wearing a lifejacket.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: OTAGO DAILY TIMES
