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A man was found dead last night in the Bay of Islands after his kayaking companion swam for at least two hours to raise the alarm.
Inspector Alan Wright, of the police Northern Communications Centre, said the pair were tipped from their kayaks by high winds, which sprang up off the coast just north of Russell.
The kayaks capsized off Te Tii Pt, about 2km north of Russell, but only one man made it to shore.
“He swam for at least two hours before he reached shore, and then he had to make it to a telephone – it’s quite a remote area – so there was a considerable delay before emergency services could be alerted,” Mr Wright said last night.
Police, the coast guard, a rescue helicopter and a fixed-wing plane carried out sea and air searches from 5.30pm and the body was found shortly after 10pm.
Mr Wright said police were still trying to contact the men’s families and would not release the dead man’s name before then.
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