Two bodies have been removed from a car that plunged into a West Coast river two days ago.
Police used a crane to lift the red Toyota Corolla out of the Wanganui River, near Hari Hari, at 10am.
Shortly after the car was cut open, two bodies were removed. They were being taken to Christchurch for post-mortems.
The damaged car would be inspected by the serious crash unit to check for mechanical malfunction or other information that might tell police more about the crash.
West Coast area commander Inspector John Canning said information from the public had helped narrow down the identities of the deceased.
He said police had a good idea of who they were, but names would not be released until their identities had been confirmed.
He said they were and male and female, possibly a couple, and were foreign nationals. The car they were driving was understood to be a rental car.
The Wanganui River had dropped overnight exposing the car.
The car smashed through railings on the State Highway 6 bridge over the Wanganui River near Harihari about 4.30pm on Tuesday.
Witnesses reported more than one occupant but the the exact number remained unknown, said Canning.
He rejected earlier criticism of the police response from a local rafting crew, whose members criticised police for not allowing access to the river.
"I think people have suggested they could have done things there but that particular person didn't arrive at the scene until 30 minutes afterwards, I mean I'm not sure how long you can hold your breath for... but most people can't."
There were suggestions there may have been a pocket of air in the car, but Canning doubted the car would have been intact after smashing through the bridge railing.
Source: The Press
Be the first to comment