Fiancee watched lake tragedy unfold

The fiancee of a man who died while trying to save a child from drowning in Lake Wakatipu watched his doomed rescue effort unfold from the shore.

The police national dive squad recovered his body from Lake Wakatipu about 3.50pm yesterday.

The man, a visitor from Australia, went missing after he entered the water at the mouth of the Rees River while trying to rescue a child about 4pm on Thursday.

Less than a week earlier, Wanaka resident Leroy Kaaho, also known as Linkin Kisling, died in nearly identical circumstances.

Mr Kisling entered the water about 4pm last Friday to assist his 10-year-old son, who survived.

Otago Lakes police area commander Inspector Paula Enoka, of Queenstown, said the divers took less than an hour to locate the Australian’s body after they entered the water about 2pm.

They found it just metres from the sandbar where he and his fiancee had been, before he jumped in the lake to help a young boy in difficulty.

The couple had only arrived in New Zealand a few days earlier.

The man’s family arrived from Australia earlier yesterday and were taken to Glenorchy to support his fiancee, Insp Enoka said.

Some Glenorchy residents were angry yesterday that more had not been done to prevent a repeat of the first tragedy.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council erected three new warning signs on the Glenorchy lakefront yesterday morning.

The signs warn about a steep drop-off close to shore, strong undertows and unstable footing.

A council spokesman said water safety was a complex issue and installing the signs was a logical and practical way the council could help ensure such an incident did not happen again.

The council would work with partner agencies to consider other measures, he said.

Queenstown Lakes District councillor Niki Gladding, of Glenorchy, said some in the community were frustrated, some angry and others "just terribly sad".

"People need to understand there is a strong undertow that is taking people straight down ... Under no circumstances should anybody be getting in that river," Cr Gladding said.

The community decided on Thursday night to set up camp at the entrance to the sandbar and take it in shifts to warn anyone against swimming or fishing in the area.

"This is a really dangerous spot right now and it’s a hazard. We don’t feel like we can leave it unattended," Cr Gladding said.

At a community meeting yesterday, residents were focused on immediate actions they could take to make sure people were aware of the significant hazards.

The meeting also discussed barriers, lifeguards and flotation devices.

People wanted to know if the river conditions had changed.

The community also wanted to meet different stakeholders, Glenorchy Community Board chairman John Glover said.

The Otago Daily Times understands it is the third incident in the same area in the past couple of weeks.

A Glenorchy resident is understood to have been rescued earlier this month after getting into difficulty.