One person has died and another was rescued after a boat overturned crossing the Catlins River bar this morning during a 60th birthday fishing trip, sparking a rescue mission amid rough conditions. 

Police confirmed this afternoon that they had recovered a body following the boating mishap. 

Shortly before noon, police earlier said a search was under way for the missing person after it received reports of a capsized vessel near Jacks Bay in South Otago about 10.40am. 

Another person who was on board was spotted on some rocks nearby and later taken by rescue helicopter to Dunedin Hospital in moderate condition. 

A helicopter assisted with an aerial search for the missing person, while Coastguard Bluff and Coastguard Dunedin volunteers and rescue vessels assisted in searching the water. 

The body was found on a nearby beach. Searchers also located a second person on some rocks nearby, along with a dog. 

Surat Bay Lodge co-owner Ester Johnson said this morning she could see, using binoculars, the boat overturned near the river bar, about 2km from Pounawea. 

“It’s upside down,” she said. 

Another boat was nearby assisting with the rescue, she said. 

“It’s so rough.” 

This afternoon, Johnson said she had been told one of the men had died as she saw rescue boats and emergency services returning. 

She knew both men who were on the boat well, she said. They had been celebrating a 60th birthday of the man who had survived, she said. 

“The boat is really smashed,” she said. 

Boats return along the Catlins River today after a vessel overturned with one person missing and another rescued and taken to hospital. Photo / Ester Johnson, Surat Bay Lodge 

St John referred further inquiries on the status of the other person to police, who confirmed the recovery of the body shortly before 3.30pm. 

Coastguard vessels from Bluff and Dunedin helped in the search, alongside the rescue helicopter. 

The view south from Jack's Bay near where the boat overturned while crossing the Catlins River bar, sparking a search on August 17, 2024. 

Johnson said while conditions today were rough it was not too windy. It was the third time a boat had rolled crossing the bar in recent memory, she said. 

She later said she saw the emergency services vehicles and rescue boat returning. 

A Fire and Emergency NZ southern shift supervisor confirmed a crew from Owaka station had been sent to help with the rescue.