Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person has died following a two-vehicle crash on Puketutu Road, near Matamata.

Police were called to the crash between Matai Road and Buckland Road at about 12.15pm Sunday.

The road was closed, while the Serious Crash Unit conducted a scene examination, and it has now been re-opened.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have officially stood down all recovery operations at Mount Maunganui, following a fatal landslide last month.

Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) and Search and Rescue teams had stopped all work, and would leave the scene.

“The families were notified of this update yesterday evening. This completes the recovery operation.

“While police will no longer be working at the scene, technology remains in place to monitor any land movements.”

Cordons still in place

Cordons remain in place around Adams Avenue, The Mall and Marine Parade.

Anderson said police would work with council and geotechnical experts to determine when it was safe to reduce the cordons.

“These remain in place for the safety of those who remain on the site, but also for the safety of the public.

“We expect to formally hand the scene over to Tauranga City Council in the coming days.”

Next steps

Police have said they would now support any subsequent coronial inquest into the tragedy.

WorkSafe continues to scope its involvement in the next phase of the response.

Police have signed an operational protocol for information-sharing with WorkSafe New Zealand to avoid duplication of efforts and to facilitate the next stage of inquiries.

“Police will be formally speaking to witnesses and gathering as much information that we can to assist WorkSafe,” Anderson said.

“A number of police staff from around the country will be assisting with this next phase of work.”

WorkSafe’s role would be to look into those organisations with a duty of care for people at the holiday park, and whether they met their work health and safety responsibilities.

All six victims formally identified

Superintendent Anderson said, as of Saturday night, all six victims had been formally identified.

“We are very relieved for the families that all their loved ones have now been returned to them.

“The last 11 days have been extremely difficult for them, waiting for their loved ones to be found and returned to them.”

Police would continue to provide ongoing wraparound support to the families of the victims.

“While we cannot take the pain away, we hope that being re-united with their loved ones can help give them some closure.

“Our family liaison officers have put in an immense amount of work to support these grieving families.

“I could not be more impressed by them in regard to their compassion, dedication and professionalism.”

Hundreds from different regions helped with operation

Anderson commended all agencies involved for their assistance during a difficult operation.

“On reflection, it has been a privilege to work alongside our colleagues, partners and volunteers for a common purpose.

“We have united to bring the families some form of closure out of this absolute tragedy.”

Police have utilised hundreds of staff from across several regions, including specialist staff over the course of this operation.

“At the peak of our operations, close to 100 police staff were assisting on a daily basis.

“We all had one goal and that was to re-unite families with their loved ones, but also to support these families through what has been an incredibly difficult time.

“I’m immensely proud of every single person who has worked tirelessly on this operation.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person has been seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash on Puketutu Road, near Matamata.

Police were called to the crash between Matai Road and Buckland Road at about 12.15pm Sunday.

Emergency services were at the scene and the road was closed.

The Serious Crash Unit was notified and will examine the scene.

Motorists were advised to avoid the area and expect delays.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person has died after a crash north of Lake Wakatipu.

Emergency services were called about 4.40am Sunday, after two vehicles collided on the Glenorchy-Routeburn Road, police said.

One person died at the scene and one was in a serious condition.

The road was still partially blocked just before 1pm Sunday, as emergency services and the Serious Crash Unit worked at the scene.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with those involved,” they said.

“There are no available diversions and the road is partially opening when possible.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

“There was nothing that could have prepared us for this.”

A memorial ceremony for young landslide victim Max Furse-Kee will be livestreamed, his mother said on Sunday, to remember an impactful life cut short.

The teenager died, along with his girlfriend 15-year-old Sharon Maccanico and four others, after a landslide struck a Mt Maunganui campground on Thursday 22 January. His body was formally identified by a coroner on 28 January, the day that would have been his 16th birthday.

Max’s family was now trying to come to terms with life without him, his mother Hannah Furse said in a statement on Sunday.

“Our beloved Max was suddenly and unimaginably taken from us. Max was our communal baby, a beautiful soul who brought immense light, laughter, and love into our world.

“There was nothing that could have prepared us for this.”

While Max’s life was short in years, it had been “deeply meaningful” for those who knew him, she said.

The family had been “overwhelmed by messages of love, comfort, and support” sent to them from throughout New Zealand and around the world.

“While we do not have the capacity to respond individually, please know that we are reading them all, and they mean more to us than we could ever express.”

Furse said it was special to her that Max was spending time with people who loved him when the tragedy struck.

“Max was not doing anything reckless, and this tragedy was not the result of poor judgement or a lack of care. He simply went to take a shower, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We take great comfort in knowing that Max spent his final days with Sharon, someone he loved so deeply, and with her family, who loved him too.”

The memorial ceremony to celebrate his life would be held on Wednesday 4 February, but would be small, his mother said.

“We respectfully ask that attendance be limited to family and close friends. A live stream will be available for those who wish to honour Max from afar.”

The family asked for privacy as they grieved.

“We are grieving not only the person we have lost, but all the milestones, memories, and future moments that will now never be. No words are big enough to capture this pain.

“Please keep Max and all the other affected families in your thoughts. Love your loved ones, life can be heartbreakingly unfair.”

The family also wanted to thank those who had worked at the Mauao scene.

“We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), the Rapid Relief Team, all the machinery operators who worked extremely carefully, local Iwi, Kaitiaki and our incredible Police Family Liaison Officers.

“You have worked tirelessly to care for us and to bring Max home.

“We have seen how deeply this has affected everyone involved, and your compassion and kindness will help carry us through the days ahead.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand teenager Sam Ruthe has smashed the under-18 world record for the mile and put the athletics world on notice in a phenomenal run at an indoor meet in Boston.

The 16-year-old ran three minutes 48.88 seconds at the John Thomas Terrier Classic meet at Boston University, leaving the field in his wake.

Ruthe became the youngest athlete to ever a run a mile quicker than 3:50 and eclipsed the overall New Zealand mile record held by Sir John Walker for 44 years.

Walker set his record of 3:49.08 in 1982 outdoors at Oslo.

Athletics indoor and outdoor records are traditionally maintained as separate, distinct, and official, according to World Athletics because of the differences in track size – 200m vs 400m.

Ruthe’s time is also the 11th quickest run indoors by any athlete, although he is still 3.70sec outside the extraordinary world record posted a year ago by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

Ruthe said his time far exceeded his expectations.

“When I was coming into this race I was expecting to run sub 3:55, I wasn’t really expecting a PB,” he told the track broadcast.

Part of his surprise came because he was still feeling the effects of the long journey to the US.

“I flew out here three days ago from New Zealand, 50 hour travel, my legs were feeling heavy a bit before this. I think I can be running faster, but I am super stoked with that.”

Ruthe said it was his first race on an indoor track, as New Zealand doesn’t have them.

“So to come here and run so fast so early on, it just makes me love indoor tracks. I want to come here as much as possible.”

Ruthe said his plan was to sit behind compatriot and training partner Sam Tanner during the race.

“He probably would have beaten me, but about 400m-600m in he did something to his Achilles. I really hope he’s okay.”

Ruthe was in second place heading into the final lap, taking the lead and winning by a comfortable margin.

Last week Ruthe ran 3:53.83sec at the Cooks Classic in Whanganui, beaten by Tanner but breaking the world outdoor record for a 16-year-old to add to a string of other landmarks already achieved.

The Boston race is the first of four of the mile races Ruthe plans to contest this month before returning to New Zealand for the national championships in early March.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Environment Canterbury is warning boaties to stay clear of waters near Akaroa, following Saturday’s grounding of a tourist ferry.

The Black Cat catamaran remains beached at Nīkau Palm Valley Bay after getting into trouble in the afternoon.

Environment Canterbury says the boat was carrying 2240 litres of marine diesel fuel on board and around 120 litres of other oils in sealed containers and engines combined.

There were also reportedly 38 passengers and three crew on-board the 17-metre catamaran, on a wildlife cruise.They were evacuated to nearby boats and no injuries were reported.

Regional On Scene Commander Emma Parr said a light fuel sheen was visible around the boat.

“A dedicated wildlife team is on standby, and response options will continue to be closely monitored and assessed throughout the day to minimise any environmental impact.”

A Tier 2 incident response was declared on Saturday, and an exclusion zone remained in place.

Parr said all vessels not involved in the response must stay clear of the area for safety reasons.

“A recovery plan is being developed as we continue working alongside the vessel owner, emergency services, the Department of Conservation, Maritime New Zealand, iwi, and the local community.”

Following the accident, passenger Chris Friedman – visiting from San Francisco – had previously told RNZ it was a stressful experience on his last day in New Zealand.

He said there was a loud sound, as if the boat had run over something, and he thought it might be a rock. It was followed by a whizzing sound that could have been from the engine.

Transport Accident Investigation Commission said the investigation team would be travelling to Akaroa “as soon as practicable”.

It said in the next few days they would be seeking and recovering any wreckage, securing electronic records – including photos, videos, and location data on people’s cellphones – and interviewing witnesses.

Black Cat Cruises said it was launching its own investigation, and would also be working with authorities.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand