5 Apr 2010

Wreckage from missing NZer's canoe recovered

3:01 pm on 5 April 2010

Searchers in Scotland looking for a missing New Zealander have found wreckage from his canoe.

The man was last seen on Thursday morning at a carpark in the village of Bigton, in the Shetland Islands, wearing a wetsuit and carrying a red canoe.

A helicopter has retrieved the canoe's shelter deck, which stops water getting into the tiny craft.

A Coastguard spokesperson believes the canoe could not have stayed afloat in the prevailing conditions without the shelter deck.

Two lifeboats, four Shetland Coastguard rescue teams and a helicopter took part in the search off the west coast of the Shetland Islands.

Shetland Coastguard watch officer Bob Skinley says the man, aged in his 40s, was an experienced canoeist. Although from New Zealand he had lived in the Shetland Islands for several years.

Rescue helicopter and search teams have been stood down, although volunteers continued to search coastlines.