Death at sea: where was air force, asks MP

QUESTIONS are being asked about why the air force was not called to assist with a search and rescue off the Wanganui coast on Saturday night, with Acting Police Minister Phil Goff yesterday calling for a review of the procedure and agencies involved.
Geoffrey Mark Hampton, 19, of Bunnythorpe died at sea in the arms of his father, Alan Hampton, on Sunday morning and with boat owner Duncan Powells 10 hours after police were alerted that the boat was missing.
Rescuers in an Air Wanganui plane left Wanganui at 7am on Sunday and spotted the men's lifejackets 10.19km south of the Whanganui River mouth at 7.40am.
Whanganui MP Chester Borrows said he was surprised the RNZAF was not called when Wanganui Police were alerted to the missing boat at 8.50pm on Saturday. Wanganui Coastguard reported it had missed its scheduled return time of 8pm.
Mr Borrows said air force personnel were concerned they weren't contacted.
"That tends to indicate there is an issue there that needs some probing.
"It took 10 hours to rescue the men, yet the Ohakea air force base was a two-minute flight away and have a chopper squad an Iroquois available 24/7 that has night vision and winches. It could have done a rescue.
"At the very least it could have been called out to have look for the men. It was known they were going to a fishing spot three miles off shore.
"As well as Ohakea, there is a private firm, Helipro, at Palmerston North that has and can be used for search and rescue."
Welcoming Mr Goff's decision to conduct a review, he said there were obvious questions to be answered about the delay and whether there could have been a different outcome.
"It is only proper the various emergency services are transparent.
"We have had other instances raised over the years where emergency services have been quick to scramble for cover. "We need to scrutinise the way emergency agencies respond. I want to make sure people are safe here."
Mr Borrows said he would be contacting police, the Rescue Co-ordination Centre and the RNZAF to ensure the safety of Wanganui residents was not being put at risk.
"It's my job as local MP to put my hand up and say, 'Well, okay, tell us the whole story. Why weren't they used?'."
Mr Borrows said he had spoken to Mr Hampton's family, and at present they were focusing on getting through the teenager's funeral.
FOOTNOTE: Geoffrey Hampton turned 19 the day before the boat he was in went down.
After being found, his father, who lives in Rongotea, and Mr Powell, of Ashhurst, were taken to Wanganui Hospital suffering from hypothermia.
At the time Wanganui Police senior sergeant Darcy Forrester said police did not know exactly what happened to the 4.88m runabout they had been in, except that it had been swamped very quickly after taking water over the stern, leaving them no time to call for help.
"I think they did everything right. They did a trip report, they had a radio on board, they had lifejackets," he said. Police believed the men had spent the night in the water.
After Wanganui police were alerted to the missing boat at 8.50pm on Saturday, the Energy Direct rescue boat unsuccessfully searched the area where the men had said they would fish, until 3.30am Sunday.