Police have found the body of a free diver who failed to surface off the Otago Peninsula coast yesterday.
The police national dive squad entered the water early this afternoon and the body of the man, believed to be a 35-year-old from Dunedin, was recovered shortly before 4pm.
A police spokeswoman said the man's next of kin were being advised and the matter had been referred to the coroner.
An initial search was launched just before 7pm yesterday after the man failed to surface near Gull Rocks, which are off the coast on the eastern side of Sandfly Bay.
A helicopter crew covered the area from Sandfly Bay to Cape Saunders.
The search was suspended at 9.45pm and the man's next of kin were advised he was missing and were offered support.
The dive squad arrived in Dunedin this morning and joined the search effort, departing from Portobello around 1pm.
The man, who is thought to have been part of a group, launched from an inflatable boat and it is understood a fellow diver called emergency services after he failed to surface.
