opps!!!

Several hundred thousand dollars worth of media gear is at the bottom of Lake Karapiro after a photo op to farewell New Zealand's Olympic rowers went horribly wrong and the press boat sank.

Seven journalists and the boat's pilot ended up in the lake, south of Hamilton, about 2.30pm and were rescued by rowing coaches who were on the water in nearby vessels.

Rowing NZ spokesman Richard Gee was at a loss to explain how the incident had happened, saying the organisation was doing nothing out of the ordinary at the time. The conditions were not adverse and the boat was not going fast.

"We are just relieved. The water is very cold out there at this time of the year. Equipment is replaceable but the people aren't."

Mr Gee said the boat was a designated safety launch with a canopy on top. It was designed to be able to rescue a rowing eight in choppy conditions. It seems it had started taking on water and the passengers had moved to the back which might have caused it to go under.

The boat was towed in upside down and Rowing NZ had commissioned divers to see what of the media's gear could be salvaged. An industry insider indicated the gear could be worth about $300,000 with a single lens used for shooting rowing valued at about $20,000.

Mr Gee suspected the equipment was lying in up to 20m of water.

The journalists - understood to represent television, newspapers and news agencies - were taken ashore and offered a hot shower and dry clothes.

Rowing NZ would review what had happened but Mr Gee said it was both surprising and disappointing.

Anyone fancy a dive in lake Karapiro??

well if they don't find that 20K lens.. but the prob is.. how deep is it, if its in the middle then there is no way in hell it will be found... you would find the sunkin village before then

Thats what happens when you get a whole load of jurnos and gear standing at one end of a boat next to the heavy motors.

And you don't want to know how large our excess is for that we hiccup...

for there designer clothes or the equipment?

Haha, no journo's were injured in the making of this news story, only cameraman... I feel for a couple of the print photographers tho, one is menat to be going to Beijing in two days.... But may not be now...

if it's one of ours (and Sarah Levi was our waterlogged camera person) they'll just get her some new gear before she goes...

Yeah it was her Alex, the niggest hurdle is Chinese authorities, we have had countless issues on every trip to China, if serial numbers and items aren't identical to the forms sent in months ago they don't let things in...

I suspect stills gear will be a lot easier than tv gear however...

are you going to Bejing Daz?

na not this time unfortuntaly, although my other half is there at the mo...

We have no rights for the olympics, as non rights holders we aren't allowed within 1 mile of any games stadium or event...

We have ten people going over, reporters and cameraman..

Well you're hardly alone there.. I don't believe ordinary people who have lived in Beijing for dozens of generations have any rights either..

yeah, didn't they say 1 million people were evicted?

All so China can pretend is a progressive, civilised country.

I've heard they make good t-shirts though PB.