A rower has been left with moderate facial injuries and another has rib injuries after they were thrown from their rowing skiff in Riverton yesterday.
The incident is being investigated by the Environment Southland harbourmaster.
Had the Riverton Coastguard not already been on the water in the Pourakino River mouth conducting a training exercise, the rowers might have suffered more serious injuries, Riverton Coastguard president Ross McKenzie said.
"We were actually on the water, close by, where one of our guys was doing an assessment, when we heard some screaming.
"We don’t know exactly what happened, but by all accounts there was a recreational boat going into the ramp to be put back on its trailer, and it either hit the rowing boat or the wake did — I’m not 100% sure.
"The rowing skiff with four people on board overturned."
The occupants were in the cold water, clinging to the overturned skiff, he said.
The recreational boat managed to rescue one of the occupants and the coastguard rescued the other three.
"There were facial injuries on one of the girls and rib damage on the other.
"They were close to shore and there were plenty of people around, but the water was quite cold and there was still a bit of flood water coming down the river so it’s still a bit dirty.
"Their injuries might have been more serious if we weren’t there already."
A St John spokeswoman said two ambulances went to the scene.
Two patients were assessed and treated for moderate injuries, before being transported to Southland Hospital, in Invercargill.
