Man missing after river swim is named

A man who went missing while swimming in the Whanganui River at the weekend has been named as Duane Kaka.

Intensive searches using boats, a helicopter and search volunteers have been carried out since Saturday and today they were joined by the Police Dive Unit from Wellington.

Mr Kaka, aged 34 and from Whanganui, has still not been found and the fast-flowing, murky water from recent downpours has not provided ideal conditions, particularly for the dive team.

Searches will continue by boat over the next few days and with fine weather predicted the river conditions are expected to settle down.

Inspector Steve Mastrovich, Ruapehu Police Area Commander, said that police hold grave fears for the missing man’s safety and he also acknowledged the assistance given to the search so far by the Department of Conservation, search volunteers and the commercial operators of jet boats on the Whanganui River.

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