Initial indications are the jet-boat and jet ski involved in a fatal collision on the Kawarau River on Monday night collided more or less head-on, Queenstown police say.
Two people died in the collision and two others were in a serious condition in Dunedin Hospital last night.
The two dead men were Anton Oskar Woitasek (34), project manager, of Lake Hayes, and Laurence Brett Singleton (51), contractor, of Queenstown.
Their bodies were recovered from the river by police divers about 10am yesterday, a few metres from where the accident happened about 7.30pm on Monday.
"It would appear the jet-boat was travelling upstream and the other [vessel] in more or less the opposite direction," Senior Sergeant John Fookes, of Queenstown, said.
However, the damage to the front of both the jet ski and the boat indicated there was some variability on the angle of travel, he said.
They "certainly impacted" on the bow ends, he said.
That would be the thrust of investigation by Maritime New Zealand, which was now handling the inquiry into the accident in conjunction with the police, Snr Sgt Fookes said.
The rules of the Kawarau River, set and administered by Queenstown Lakes District Council and based on those of Maritime New Zealand, required vessels to keep to the right side of the river, Queenstown harbourmaster Marty Black said.
"Upstream traffic gives way to traffic going downstream," he said.
"They are the rules and should be obeyed. People not obeying the rules is the issue.
"I would expect people who are experienced boaties . . . should follow the rules and the sad part about it is, they don't."
Some of the people were not wearing lifejackets.
Mr Black had a "reasonable idea" of what happened in the collision, but because it was subject to investigation, he was unable to comment further about specifics of the accident.
The bodies were spotted in the river, just beyond the willows lining the river bank in an area searched extensively on Monday night, and just downstream from where the collision occurred.
Family of the dead men visited the site yesterday.
Noel Gutzewitz, who lives beside the Kawarau River and called emergency services after the crash, said they were "bearing up, but obviously grieving".
The two jet ski riders remained in Dunedin Hospital last night.
A 19-year-old woman was in a critical condition and a 21-year-old man in a serious condition.
