Marine

16.5, sinking, fatalities

New Zealand: six people died, including people representing three generations of one family, when the 15m vessel Kotuku sank in heavy seas in Foveaux Strait. The load may have shifted after it was hit by a wave, forcing the boat to tip when a second, deadly wave struck. The family was returning from an annual mutton bird gathering trip on Kaihuka, an island to the east of Stewart Island, and had buckets of mutton birds on board.