A Greytown man has been confirmed dead after an inflatable boat capsized in the upper reaches of the Waiohine River yesterday with two others surviving the incident.
Masterton police reached an area of the Waiohine Gorge in mid-afternoon after receiving a call reporting cries for help.
Senior Sergeant Carolyn Watson confirmed three people had been in the inflatable when it tipped over.
She said the Westpac Helicopter had been called in and the Greytown man, aged 52, was dead.
He has not yet been named.
His wife managed to get to safety and the third person had scrambled onto a bank.
The rescue helicopter could not be used to reach her due to buffeting wind but a local man in a jetboat carried her to safety about 5pm.
It is thought the survivors were taken by ambulance to Wairarapa Hospital for observation.
- By Wairarapa Times Age
