Friday, 28 February 2020

Third tramper who died near Makarora named

    1. Canterbury
    2. National

    A tramper wades across the Makarora River, above the confluence with the Young River. Photo by ODT.
    A tramper wades across the Makarora River, above the confluence with the Young River. File photo: ODT
    Police have released the name of a tramper found dead in the Makarora River earlier this month, one of three to have died in the area around the same time.

    She was 20-year-old Ashwini Rasiwala from France. Police said she was found dead in the river on Saturday, February 8.

    The other trampers who died in the vicinity this month were were Kevin Kum Fike Lee (22), who resided in Dunedin, and Briton Stephanie Simpson (32). Their bodies have also been found. 

    The bodies of Ms Rasiwala and Mr Lee were found within a day of each other, in the same area, and police said at the time they thought the pair may have been tramping together.

    The deaths all came after several days of extreme weather in the lower half of the South Island.