Police say “dangerous” conditions are preventing them from searching for a person and vehicle missing in a Bay of Plenty river following a serious crash that injured two others last week.
Emergency services were alerted to a single vehicle that had gone down a bank and into the Waioweka River, about 2.5km south of the Tauranga Bridge, on State Highway 2 shortly before 10.30am on October 4.
Police said two people were transported to Whakatāne Hospital with moderate injuries and one remained unaccounted for.
Eastern Bay of Plenty Area Senior Sergeant Richard Miller said today that search and rescue teams, including a boat, helicopter and Coastguard jet skis continued to search the riverbank on Friday.
“Unfortunately, the person and vehicle were unable to be located,” he said.
Since that time, Miller said conditions on the river had remained dangerous as rain in the headwaters of the Opato and Waioweka kept the river levels high and made it unsafe to enter the river.
“A jet boat has continued to make sweeps of the river each morning and afternoon, monitoring river flow, depth and clarity of the water,” he said.
Police Search and Rescue and the police National Dive Squad would continue to assess all information available and deploy as soon as conditions permit.
“Police and rescue agencies remain committed to returning their loved one to whānau as soon as it is possible,” Miller said.
“We urge people who might be considering undertaking their own search activity in the river to please refrain from doing so given the risks posed by the conditions.”
