THE survival of two children in the Waioeka River following a crash that killed their mother is “nothing short of a miracle”.

Ōpōtiki deputy chief fire officer Barry Hennessy has praised the actions of the firefighters and members of the public involved in rescuing a 16-year-old girl and her nine-year-old brother from the flooded river earlier this month.

Emergency services were alerted to a vehicle crashing, then sinking, in the Waioeka River at 10.23am on October 4. While the children were rescued the same day, the body of their mother was not located and retrieved until October 10 when river conditions had cleared sufficiently for police staff, search-and-rescue teams and jetboat operators to search the river. She was found inside the car, about 400 metres from the crash site.

Ōpōtiki deputy chief fire officer Barry Hennessy said although it was a tragic outcome, her two children were alive thanks to their will to survive and the actions of members of the public and emergency services.

Before leaving the station to attend the crash, Ōpōtiki firefighters were told there was a female on the opposite side of the river, holding onto the bank.”

Heavy rain on the day before meant the river flow was about 140 cubic metres per second, almost 15 times its normal flow.

“Along with the responding Fire and Emergency swift-water rescue team from Rotorua, we also contacted Mark Looney from Motu River Jet,” Mr Hennessy said.

“We could see from the location of the accident, just before the cableway, that he would be able to launch at the Graham’s bridge metal pit to access the scene.”

When the brigade arrived at the crash scene, they were met by St Johns ambulance and police.  

The teenage girl was on the opposite bank with Lewis Atkinson of Matatā, who had paddled over to her on a surfboard.

“This was about 500 metres downstream of where the vehicle entered the river.

“An off-duty career firefighter from Gisborne, Shane Vermeulen, also paddled across the river on a surfboard towing a line, to which we connected our dry bag containing our first aid kit, warm clothes and a radio to be pulled across the river to the patient.”

Mr Hennessy said two more Ōpōtiki fire trucks arrived while two fire trucks from the Matawai Brigade were upstream searching the river.

Mr Hennessy said they were told by radio that the girl had last seen her brother floating down the river holding onto a bag.

“At that point, we realised we also had a search and rescue on our hands, so all available resources were tasked to head down the river to look for the boy.”

In the meantime, Mr Looney had left from Ōpōtiki in his jet-boat with a couple of firefighters as crew and the searchers had realised that a helicopter winch rescue was probably not possible because of overhanging trees above the girl.

“She was on a rock ledge below the bush with her rescuers and could not be moved; rescue by jet-boat would be the best option,” Mr Hennessy said.

“It was then that two of our firefighters, William Killeen and Regan Hennessy, spotted the boy clinging to flax bushes on the opposite bank, five kilometres downstream from the crash scene.

“They heard a faint call for help and spotted only his head and arms holding on for dear life.”  

Mr Looney and firefighter Scott De Buisson arrived with the jet-boat.

“They quickly launched and delivered the injured and hypothermic boy across the river to the firefighters for treatment,” Mr Hennessy said.  

“They worked on getting him warm, placing him in our van with the heater turned on full, wrapped in blankets.”

The jet-boat crew then travelled the 5km upstream to pick up his sister from the bank and transfer her to the “gravel pit”, where the two rescue choppers would be landing.

“Ōpōtiki Coastguard had launched two jet skis from near town and travelled upstream searching while the jet-boat and helicopter searched the river looking for any sign of the third victim,” Mr Hennessy said.

“While it turned out to be a tragic outcome with the loss of a life, the children’s survival story was nothing short of a miracle – and it was a testament to their will to survive.”

Mr Hennessy said the two men who paddled across the river should get some commendation for their bravery. “The river was pumping and I’ve no doubt the girl wouldn’t have survived had they not acted so quickly,” he said.

“It was just such a great team effort from all the emergency services involved, but also members of the public who stopped and helped.”