Quick action by two experienced kayakers saved a river surfer from drowning on the Hawea river yesterday afternoon.
The man was river surfing when he became trapped alongside a bridge pylon, with his body on one side of the pylon and his board - still attached to his leg by a piece of rope - on the other side.
One of the kayakers, Ben Yates, heard a scream from a woman on the bank and noticed the surfer, who had been dragged underwater by the force of the flow and was only occasionally breaking the surface to snatch a breath.
He and another kayaker came to the rescue and while Mr Yates fought to dislodge the surfboard, the other kayaker helped lift the surfer's head above water.
During the rescue, Mr Yates became entangled in the surfer's leash and was briefly trapped underwater.
Queenstown Lakes District Harbourmaster Marty Black said: "In this case, the surfer was incredibly lucky there were two very experienced people who were able to rescue him. He was seconds away from drowning.
"He had no life jacket, no helmet and he seems to have been using a bit of towrope for a leg leash so there was no quick-release mechanism."
Mr Black praised the efforts of Mr Yates, the Director of Alpine Kayak Guides, and the other kayaker, who has not been identified.
"There was no-one else on the river who could have got to this guy in time and saved him."
