A willow tree which contributed to a near drowning on Tuesday (December 29) has been removed from the Clutha River.

The incident involved three or four teenage girls on inflatables, who were trapped by a prominent willow tree near the rope swing below the Albert Town camping ground.

Queenstown Lakes District harbourmaster Marty Black organised the removal of the tree with the Otago Regional Council, and contractor Central Machine Hire had removed the tree by Thursday morning (December 31).

“It’s good to have it all done and dusted,” Marty said. “There’s been one entrapment already, and there are still heaps of other entrapments we don’t know about.”

Deputy harbourmaster Craig Blake told the Wanaka App there had been a harbourmaster jet ski on the river for most of today, and “people have been responsive to what we’ve had to say”.

“There are loads and loads of people on the water,” he said, adding that staff were checking life jackets and reminding people to keep their speed down.

“Check your speed, go a little slower and pay a bit more attention, and hopefully we’ll all go home alive,” he said.

With it being a hot New Year’s Eve day, there was a good mix of families and young visitors enjoying the river, Craig said.

There had also been “quite a bit” of jumping from the Albert Town bridge, and Craig reminded people jumping is still banned.