Guide dies when raft overturns

The body of a young Norwegian rafting guide was pulled from the Rangitikei River yesterday by his workmates and police search and rescue divers.
The 24-year-old man who had been training and working with River Valley Lodge near Taihape, had resurfaced when the raft he was on with seven other staff overturned on Saturday in the River Valley.
River Valley Rafting managing director Brian Megaw said last night the staff were extremely shocked and very unsettled.
The man, a rafting guide from a large Norwegian rafting operation had come to New Zealand specifically to work and train with the international award winning New Zealand company. He had only been with River Valley for three weeks, Mr Megaw said.
Mr Megaw said staff were devastated but needed to do more than sitting around talking about the accident.
"I brought in a local kaumatua yesterday to talk with everyone. To help restore some balance. It wasn't totally a religious thing; it just seemed to be the right thing. "Maori people are better at dealing with death and loss than we are. We went with him as he blessed the river and prayed."
It had taken nearly an hour and a half to retrieve the body yesterday afternoon at about 1.30pm because it was wedged very deep in rocks at Fulcrum Rapids, he said.
Conditions on the river were good on Saturday, he said.
"It was certainly within our bounds for rafting.''
The company had been operating for 25 years and at present there were 25 staff, both male and female guides, he said. After the kaumatua's blessing the company's senior guides decided it was better for everyone if they got back on the river today, he said.
"So it will be business as usual. It is what everyone needs to do."
Mr Megaw said he hadn't been able to talk to the man's family in Norway because they couldn't speak English.
"So I have no idea what they are planning."
There had been three fatalities in the 25 years since River Valley was set up, he said.
"One about 20 years ago and one two years ago. Any accident is horrific and, of course, being an extreme adventure operation, we tend to come under the spotlight and it's big news."
He said, on average in the New Zealand rafting industry, rafts carried more than 100,000 punters a year with a fatality around every two or three years.
Mr Megaw said it was always very tough to deal with accidents.
"But accidents happen, and they will everywhere else in ordinary every day life."
There will be a special service this week for all the river community and the staff to attend, he said.
"It's sad. Because he [the dead man] had seen our operation on the net and contacted us saying how much he wanted to come out here and work with our guides. He'd been on at least trips already on that stretch of water."