Lake Tekapo
Two kayakers died and nine were injured in New Zealand's Lake Tekapo after their kayaks overturned Friday. In this photo, dated Dec. 16, 2013, a general view of Lake Tekapo is seen Central Otago, New Zealand. Getty Images/Martin Hunter

Two men died in a kayak accident in central New Zealand’s Lake Tekapo Friday, police said in a statement. The deceased, along with nine others, were members of a group of people who hired kayaks for a trip on the country’s second-largest lake, the police added.

Lake Tekapo Search and Rescue personnel, voluntary firemen and coastguard rescued nine people and retrieved the two bodies. "They ran into difficulty after venturing out on the lake and being swamped after an easterly wind picked up to an estimated 20 knots," the police said in the statement.

Mid-South Canterbury area Commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said that some of the nine rescued kayakers suffered from various degrees of hypothermia. Two of them were rushed to a local hospital because of their critical condition.

"The boats were swamped and they were tipped into the water," Gaskin said, according to NZHerald.co.nz, a local news network.

Names of the deceased were not released pending family notification, according to the police statement. The case will be referred to the coroner.

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