Cyclone Gabrielle: Man risks walk over debris-covered bridge to give mate cold beer

In the midst of a disaster zone, a little gesture for a friend can mean a lot.

Sam Parsons knows beer is not an essential supply, but he decided to take a risk on Tuesday to bring a crate of it to his mate, who has been left isolated by the Esk River’s carnage through Esk Valley.

Parsons, a health and safety auditor, said a friend of his has lived for about 32 years at the end of Ellis Wallace Rd, which has now been cut off, bar a single debris-covered rail bridge over the river.

Parsons, who is living at the other end of the road at the moment, has made a few crossings over the rail bridge to help bring some essentials to his friend, the most recent being a crate of beer.

"He likes a beer, and I thought he could probably use one." Photo / Paul Taylor

“He likes a beer, and I thought he could probably use one,” Parsons said.

He said he understood the bridge he crossed was considered to be unsafe for crossing now and he didn’t recommend it.

“Sometimes you have got to take a risk, especially to help those on the other side,” Parsons said.

He said that until warning signage was installed, locals would continue to use the rail bridge as a crossing point - there are few other options available to them besides swimming across, he said.

A Hastings District Council spokesperson said Kiwirail advised them on Monday evening the bridge was unsafe for pedestrian travel.

There is currently no estimated date for when a safe bridge crossing point can be restored, but the spokesperson said there were many options their engineers were working through.

“Our original plan to shift the river back to the original crossing has uncovered some issues that may not be able to be resolved, so alternate ways to connect with the community on the other side of the river are being explored with expediency.”