(TAN): Two bodies were found in a popular lakefront in the tourist town of Taupō. Revellers were seen partying in hot pools on the shores of Lake Taupō the previous night, reports said.
The incident has rattled local residents. A local resident was quoted as saying, “Things like that don’t happen in Taupō.”
There are speculations that the deceased may have consumed alcohol or taken drugs before taking a dip in the lake, which is when they drowned.
A local man who was at the lake last night said around 1930 hours, he saw two women and a man, who appeared to be intoxicated, at the popular Hot Water Beach spot, nzherald said.
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“I think at that stage they were intoxicated,” he was quoted as saying, describing their behaviour as loud and drunken.
Taupō Mayor David Trewavas described the incident as “very tragic”. “It’s very sad on such a beautiful day,” he said.
Phoebe Liddle and Daniel Burtton, who run a coffee cart at the lakefront, said unexplained deaths were never good for a tourist town like Taupō. “All we can hope for is that there is no foul play involved,” Liddle was quoted by the local media.
Police have sent the bodies for autopsy.
