Police have located the body of a person who died following a single-vehicle crash into the Waioeka River near Ōpōtiki last week.
Emergency services responded to the scene at around 10.20am on October 4 after reports a vehicle had gone down a bank into the river alongside State Highway 2.
Two people were taken to Whakatāne Hospital with moderate injuries.
Senior Sergeant Richard Miller said search and rescue teams, including a boat, helicopter and Coastguard jet skis conducted sweeps of the river and riverbanks on Friday.
“Unfortunately, the person and vehicle were unable to be located.”
Conditions on the river remained dangerous as rain in the headwaters of the Opoto and Waioweka kept levels high and made it unsafe to enter the river.
Miller said on Wednesday that a jet boat had made sweeps of the river every morning and afternoon to monitor river flow, depth and clarity.
He added police and rescue teams had been on standby ready to respond when river conditions were safe.
“Today, the river conditions had cleared sufficiently and Police along with search and rescue teams, local jet boat operators, and the Police National Dive Squad responded, searching the river.”
Miller said the vehicle was located around 400m from the crash site shortly after midday.
The victim’s body was located inside and had been successfully recovered.
“While located deceased, police are pleased to have been able to reunite whānau with their loved one,” he said.
“Inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.”
