Police are disputing claims the rescue of a fisherman who jumped from his burning boat off the Dunedin coast was mishandled.
Port Chalmers recreational fisherman and marine search and rescue adviser Warren Lewis ran his burning boat aground in an isolated bay near Heyward Point on Tuesday.
He was later winched to safety by the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter before being taken to Dunedin Hospital suffering from cold and smoke inhalation.
A member of the Dunedin search and rescue community, who wishes to remain anonymous, said his rescue was mishandled and the mistakes could have led to a death if the situation had been more serious.
The mistakes included poor communication between agencies and the helicopter being stood down midway through the rescue, only to be called back out again.
"I’m appalled by it," the person said.
Dunedin Search and Rescue co-ordinator Sergeant Nathan White, who led the rescue, said claims being made about the rescue were misguided and based on "bits and pieces" of information from people not aware of the full picture.
"I think it went well, given the remoteness of the location and the challenges associated with that."
A complaint search and rescue volunteers were not paged was groundless, as the relevant people were contacted directly.
"There was no need to double up."
The helicopter was stood down through the police communications centre based on an understanding Mr Lewis had safely reached the shore and the situation was not as urgent as first thought.
The helicopter was called back because the remoteness of the location meant it would have taken some time to reach Mr Lewis by boat.
Sgt White would not comment on whether it was appropriate to stand the helicopter down until after a debrief of the rescue was held.
The debrief would probably happen this week and, as always, there would be lessons learnt from the rescue.
"I’ve never been part of a perfect search and I can’t imagine there will ever be a perfect search."
