"There is one born - in this case a dozen - every day," was Queenstown Lakes Mayor Clive Geddes' response to a report a group of drunk tourists dived off the sea wall into a flooded Lake Wakatipu on Friday morning.
"I can only repeat what the harbour master [Marty Black] said: the combination of alcohol and cold water can be lethal and should not be taken lightly.
"Anyone who wants to do ballet dancing along the top of the sea wall runs the risk of falling into that lake. The lake on the sea wall side is about two and a-half metres deep, which is way over your head, and I would think that anyone going in there alcohol-affected who wasn't an expert swimmer is going to run a real risk of drowning."
The group of British and Dutch tourists, who were backpackers in their mid-20s, stripped to their underwear and dived in about 3am, the Southland Times reported.
"Diving in half full of booze is ... ridiculous," Mr Black said.
