The body of a man missing after a boating incident off Tasmania’s north-west coast has been found on Robbins Island.
Inspector Anthea Maingay said the 36-year-old’s body was located on the eastern shore of the island on Monday morning.
He had been missing since Saturday night after the vessel he was on got into difficulty around 9pm, throwing all four occupants into the water.
The boat left the Montagu campground boat ramp at 5:30pm on Saturday carrying three adults and a six-year-old child on a fishing trip.
Relatives raised the alarm just after 8am on Sunday when the group failed to return.
A search involving a rescue helicopter, police and private vessels was launched across the Robbins Island area.
Just after 1pm on Sunday, three survivors – a 27-year-old woman, a 33-year-old man and the child – were found together on Big Stony Island, north of Robbins Island.
Maingay said the survivors were a family – a mother, father and their young son. The missing man was their friend.
All three survivors were wearing life jackets. The missing man was not.
“My understanding was that he did have a life jacket on at one point, but for other reasons he’s taken it off and unfortunately this incident has occurred during the period that he wasn’t wearing the life jacket,” Maingay said.
She described the family’s survival as remarkable given the conditions.
“It’s very cold in Tasmanian waters, particularly this time of year,” she said.
“It’s very fortunate that they were able to make their way to shore and get together and keep warm as best as they could until they were located.”
The boat has sunk and not yet been recovered. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
“There were some earlier suggestions that it had capsized, but we’re still exploring those opportunities at this stage,” Maingay said.
The group are from the Circular Head community. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
