The car found submerged in the Waipoua River on Sunday morning drifted more than 2km to the Ruamahanga River, where it was lashed to a tree at the bottom of River Rd on Monday. PHOTO/ARTHUR HAWKES
Car drifts 2km in river
Tracks show car’s trajectory
ARTHUR HAWKES
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The vehicle found submerged in the roaring Waipoua River on Sunday has been carried more than two kilometres by the surging current. It is now lashed to a tree on the Ruamahanga, at the end of River Rd, Masterton.
It was smashed considerably on its journey down to the mouth of the Waipoua and into the Ruamahanga.
The whereabouts of the passengers of the stolen vehicle were still unknown.
While the flow of the river has lessened slightly, more details have emerged, with tracks leading up to the bank, and a smashed bollard in the carpark near to where it entered the Waipoua, which the vehicle presumably knocked over on its path into the river.
Sergeant Jen Hansen of Wairarapa Police said that a local police diver had made an assessment of the site and recommended waiting until the flow had lessened.
“We have a dive squad member based locally, who made an assessment of whether they could have had a further look at the vehicle, but probably not at this stage.
“At the moment, it’s tied to a tree down the River Rd end. It’s not moving at the moment, but it’s pretty well submerged, and it’s taken quite a battering over the course of the 2km
it’s moved.”
