Rescued dad still holding dead son
Geoffrey Mark Hampton was celebrating his 19th birthday on a fishing trip with his father, Alan Hampton, 44, and the boats owner, Duncan Powell, 32, of Ashhurst. He died after their boat sank off Wanganui on Saturday.
Fisherman Lyndon Bowman pulled the two hypothermic survivors and Geoffreys body from the sea after seeing a plane circling above them about 8am yesterday.
They had been drifting together for up to 12 hours. Hypothermia had really set in and [Mr Powell] was freezing. I got him into the boat. I went to grab the boy but the father said, `He passed away at 4 oclock this morning, and I said, `Oh God.
They had set out from Wanganui in a five-metre runabout. It sank about three kilometres off the Whanganui River mouth at Castlecliff.
Concerned relatives raised the alarm about 8pm on Saturday. An Energy Direct rescue boat was launched an hour later, but the search was abandoned at 3.30am.
Geoffrey Hampton, from Bunnythorpe, is thought to have died about 30 minutes later.
The three men were found 6.5 kilometres offshore, 10 kilometres south of the river mouth. All were wearing lifejackets.
The two survivors were transferred to a rescue boat then rushed to Wanganui Hospital in a critical condition with hypothermia. They were in a satisfactory condition last night.
Mr Bowman visited Alan Hampton in Wanganui Hospital yesterday. All I did was get em out and get em back. I just kept on talking. I just said, `Hang in there, buddies, hang in there. Were nearly there.
If they hadnt been found in another hour or two they would have been gone. I was just so grateful that two guys made it but I was really gutted that the boy didnt.
Police believed the boat had sunk between 7pm and 8pm.
Senior Sergeant Darcy Forrester said the last time they were known to be safe was 1.30pm.
They stayed together overnight, which was a miracle.
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Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 9:34 pm under