Six feared drowned in two boating accidents

Press, 26 April 1979, Page 6

Six feared drowned in two boating accidents

Six persons., two of them; ate missing as a result of two-boating accidents, .one ip the-Firth of Thames, and the other in Cook Strait Missing in Cook Strait are Mr A. G. Aish, aged 50. of Wellington, his son Brent, aged 12, and a friend. Paul, David, aged 12. : Missing in the Firth of): Thames are three Auckland )■ firemen, Murray Graham) Harris, aged 24,’ of Manu-j; rewa; Gordon Colin Upton.;, aged 21. of Papatoetoe; and' Peter Frederick Bradley..; aged 23, of Papatoetoe. They; have been missing for more' than 24 hours. Mr Aish and the two) children left Wellington early ; yesterday afternoon to go; fishing in a 4m aluminium i dinghy.

! The Wellington police!; launch Lady'Elizabeth II and j local fishing boats were' searching for the three yes-), : terday. . ■ _ ) Winds gusting up to 50' ) knots were recorded in Cook , 'Strait during the afternoon land little hope is held for the! missing persons if they - are ■; not sheltering somewhere on ' Fthe coast. ) Auckland firemen put * j aside their helmets yester- ; ; day and queued for the right I to lend a hand in the search.! | of the Firth of Thames for)! I their- three missing fellow! J ) firemen. i Up to 30 firemen helped! l ’with the search during the) 1 ) day, and another 20 were:! )ready to answer the call if! l they were needed. Chances! I of finding the young men 11

alive faded with darkness); last evening. !< They had launched their ■ i aluminium dinghy about;' 5 p.m. on Tuesday and were j to return about 8 p.m. with ‘ a catch of snapper. Friends telephoned the, police when they failed top return by 11.15 p.m. A police search began_ at , dawn vesterday. At 7.16 , a.m. a light aircraft spotted the upturned dinghy Bkm off j Kauaua, and within a few j hours searchers had found ( two life jackets, one at!, Thornton Bay on the Coro-11 mandel Peninsula, and the); other near Pakatoa Island.;; But there was no sign of the ; three men. Mr Upton is the only pro-); fessional fireman. He works t

at the Otara station. Th> Mother tw’O are volunteers at tached to the Papatoero I brigade. Mr Harris, who ha a wife and young child, i an Auckland bus driver, a is Mr Bradley. The Auckland MetropoH Itan Fire Brigade staff office I (Mr W. D. Dickson) said th ; three firemen were “goot ; mates" and “liked bv every one.” “The response from th. Papatoetoe volunteers ant the Auckland men has beet colossal,” he said. “Everson 'wanted to do their bit ti s help. Firemen went out a | five or six boats—their owi ! boats — helping the search ! and there were 20 men oi 'standby at all times, waittnj [to give a hand if the polict 'wanted them.” he said.