The search for eight people reportedly seen in heavy seas on a dinghy and kayaks off the Otago coast yesterday will be evaluated this morning, the Rescue Co-ordination Centre says.
An eyewitness had seen the group of four kayaks and four people in a rubber dinghy head out about midday yesterday at Kaka Point, 23km southeast of Balclutha, Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokesman Lindsay Sturt said.
Conditions were poor with strong winds and a heavy swell.
Air and sea searches last night failed to turn up any sign of them.
Mr Sturt said no one had been reported missing and if the eight were caught out at sea it was likely aircraft would have located them.
The Rescue Co-ordination Centre said the search was suspended until 8.30 this morning when it would be re-evaluated.
Mr Sturt told NZPA it was hoped the group had come ashore safely.
"We're just looking for information from anyone that might be able to tell us that these people are missing. We just haven't heard anything at all."
Anyone who was aware of the group in question was urged to contact police, who had been involved in the search.
The Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter, three boats and a fixed-wing aircraft spent most of yesterday afternoon searching Molyneaux Bay and the area north, but returned to base without finding any trace of the craft or people.
As well, despite "intensive inquiries", police failed to find any empty trailer or vehicle that might have carried kayaks.
That left search controllers hopeful the party had returned to shore unseen and were safe at home.
Balclutha Senior Sergeant Richard Whitmore, initially in charge of the search, said police were alerted about 11.30am by a Kaka Point resident with search and rescue experience.
Snr Sgt Whitmore said the report was of four people wearing lifejackets in four kayaks accompanied by four people in a rubber inflatable boat.
The group was "just off the coast from the Kaka Point township".
All were upright when spotted and were heading out to sea in "pretty atrocious" conditions.
"The major concern from the informant was the fact that there were very rough seas and an offshore wind and they had concerns that they were not going to be able to get back to where they may have started from."
A swell of 2.4m was running at nearby Nugget Point at noon and it had risen to 2.6m by 6pm.
A westerly was blowing 30-40 knots.
Asked if the sighting was valid, Snr Sgt Whitmore said: "Yes, absolutely. I have no reason to doubt that is what they saw."
Nugget View and Kaka Point Motels manager Bruce Kilpatrick told the Otago Daily Times he was outside hanging out the washing when he noticed a boat with four or five people in it and two people in kayaks out in the rough seas and big swells opposite his business .
They "stood out" as they appeared to be wearing a lot of purple-coloured clothing, he said.
Soon afterwards, he heard the rescue helicopter, and a policeman visited him to see if the boat-users had been staying with them. They had not.
Around Kaka Point, there were differing versions of numbers involved. Nobody was sure where they had launched.
Police handed over the search to the National Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre at 3.35pm.
Search and Rescue spokesman Lindsay Sturt said three boats were involved in the search as well as the aircraft.
The rescue helicopter carried out a grid search off the coast from Kaka Point and further north near Bull Creek.
It also flew the coastline to the Otago Peninsula, before returning to its Mosgiel base.
The helicopter was stood down about 8pm.
"It's good news in the sense that no-one's reported anyone missing. We just wish someone would ring in and say, 'Hey that was us and we got ashore and there was no problem'. But, unfortunately that hasn't happened."
The contact number for the centre is 0508 222433.
