The police Eagle helicopter crew and Coastguard are searching for a missing jet skier off Waikato (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
A five year-old and another person have been rescued by emergency responders at the Waikato River mouth, but searchers are continuing to scour the water for a third person missing for almost 24 hours.
The three were jet skiing near the notoriously dangerous sand bar at the river's mouth on Christmas Day when they got into trouble.
Police said they responded to reports of three people in distress at sea about 6:30pm on Thursday. The Police Eagle helicopter crew helped surf lifesavers to rescue two people, but the third had not yet been found.
The Coastguard and police were back out on Boxing Day, continuing the search for the remaining jet skier.
Surf Life Saving NZ (SLSNZ) said on Christmas Day lifeguards from Sunset Beach and Kariaotahi had responded to the incident, with patrol lifeguards and search and rescue squads, using inflatable rescue boats and rescue water craft. The Northern Rescue helicopter had also helped search.
Lifeguards had been able to pull a five-year-old child from the water, and had kept searching until it became too dark to continue, at about 8pm on Thursday.
The remaining missing person was a male, SLSNZ said.
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