Tandem skydive passenger missing after Queenstown crash; company suspends operations

A commercial skydiving company has suspended operations while a search continues for a man who plunged into Lake Wakatipu during a tandem jump.

An official investigation into how the parachutists ended up in the water will start today with two Transport Accident Investigation Commission officials due to arrive at the lake this morning.

Police say they will reassess the search for the missing skydiver this morning after more than 20 rescue vessels and aircraft scoured the Queenstown lake yesterday afternoon.

The tandem skydive took a tragic turn after a possible parachute malfunction left two skydivers stranded in the cold and windswept waters of New Zealand's third largest lake.

The skydivers were jumping with Queenstown company NZONE.

The skydive instructor was rescued and taken to hospital but the passenger is still missing after a massive search and rescue operation failed to find him before nightfall.

Emergency services were told at 1.42pm that two skydivers had landed in the lake near Jack's Pt settlement.

Eleven boats, a number of jetskis and planes, the Coastguard, water taxis, helicopters and other emergency services battled windy conditions in a bid to find the skydiver, but rescue attempts were suspended at 6.30pm.

Police have said they will assess the search this morning.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has opened an inquiry into the accident and two investigators are expected to arrive at the lake today.

TAIC said it had been told a possible parachute malfunction resulted in a passenger and a "tandem master" landing in Lake Wakatipu during a commercial tandem skydive.

It was unable to confirm further details while the search and rescue operation continued.

TAIC said its inquiry will try to explain the circumstances and causes of the accident, with a view to helping prevent similar accidents in the future.

WorkSafe and the Civil Aviation Authority had also been notified.

A CAA spokeswoman said it was yet to decide if it would investigate.

NZONE Skydive said skydiving operations had been suspended while the search was ongoing.

"The highly experienced instructor, who has completed thousands of jumps, was completing a tandem jump with a male customer when they landed in a body of water," it said.

"One male is being treated at the Lakes District Hospital for minor injuries and is in a stable condition, and the search continues for the other person."

The company also made headlines in January last year after two of its instructors were seriously injured during a tandem training flight.

Sasa Jojic and Sasa Ljaskevic, originally from Serbia, were hospitalised after performing a "dangerous" manoeuvre.

The pair hit the ground at Drift Bay, south of Jack's Pt, at high speed and suffered serious injuries from the impact of their landing.

The CAA and WorkSafe also investigated that accident.

It is not known if either of the men were involved in yesterday's accident.

Further updates are expected this morning.