A 37-year-old Invercargill man had a lucky escape after being trapped against the control gates of Lake Te Anau yesterday after falling from his jet ski.
The man was pinned by the current for more than 20 minutes, Sergeant Tod Hollebon, of Te Anau, said.
"Without the rescue, he would have perished there."
He was saved by a quick response from the lake's boating fraternity after the alarm was raised by two Australian tourists, who heard his calls for help.
"His wetsuit and life jacket are what saved him initially," Sgt Hollebon said.
The police put out an alert on marine radio and, in the interim, boaties who had become aware of the accident organised a response with an inflatable rubber boat and used a rope to pull the man to safety.
"The response was brilliant from the boating fraternity."
While the man was jet skiing within the line of buoys marking the gates off, it was an area jet skis and light craft should not operate in, Sgt Hollebon said.
"There is a real risk of falling off, or losing power, and being taken down into the dam."
