Distress call spurs search

Cars move along Taieri Rd, Dunedin, about 10pm yesterday, as snow continues to fall. Photo by...
Cars move along Taieri Rd, Dunedin, about 10pm yesterday, as snow continues to fall. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
There remains no word this morning of a vessel that was apparently in distress in ''nasty'' conditions on Lake Wakatipu yesterday.

A helicopter crew using night vision equipment searched unsuccessfully until about 8.30 yesterday evening for the vessel, the effort following an earlier extensive search of the lake involving about four boats and a helicopter, which had also found no trace.

Police this morning said there was no word of the vessel overnight, and the situation would be reviewed today. Senior Sergeant Ben Butterfield said an emergency radio request for a 111 call was made about 4.30pm in the Lake Wakatipu area.

Coastguard Queenstown and commercial companies plied the lake while a Lakes District Air Rescue Trust helicopter searched by air.

Road closures and warnings, and forecasts of widespread snow, including to sea level in Dunedin, began appearing for Otago in the early evening.

Overnight around Queenstown, the MetService had expected temperatures down to 1degC, with a high of just 4degC forecast for today, with gales, severe at times, and snow showers through into the afternoon.

Police tried, without success, to contact the person who made the call for help.

''There's no information about what this person wants 111 for or where they are,'' Snr Sgt Butterfield said.

Queenstown Water Taxis' Andre Cockburn said his boat searched for almost two hours, until darkness - ''and nothing's come up''.

He said conditions were rough, with a converging southerly and westerly wind.

''It was pretty nasty out there.

''If somebody was in the water they wouldn't last half an hour.''

He said his company's boat searched from Frankton Marina up to Walter Peak, and then into the bay of Mt Nicholas Station, and then down into Bobs Cove and the shoreline back to Frankton Marina.

The vessel was thought to be just off Walter Peak.

''With rough conditions like that they're obviously going to blow up on the town side of the shore,'' Mr Cockburn said: ''We had a pretty extensive search.''

Real Journeys corporate communications manager Tsehai Tiffin said two Fiordlander class vessels _ replacements while TSS Earnslaw is on survey _ split up on the way back from Walter Peak to Queenstown.

''The call didn't give a location ... One boat came down the Cecil Peak side of the lake and the other went up towards Mt Nicholas and then along the Bobs Cove side.''

Coastguard Queenstown could not be reached for comment.

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