Rowing NZ spokesman Richard Gee said the photo op at Lake Karapiro went horribly wrong when the press boat, which was carrying seven journalists representing both newspapers and TV, began taking on water and sank, Stuff.co.nz reported Tuesday.

Gee said the seven journalists and the boat's pilot were fished out of the water by rowing captains without injuries, but hundreds of thousands of dollars in media equipment was lost to the lake.

He said investigators do not yet know why the boat sank, as nothing previously appeared out of the ordinary and conditions were not adverse.

"We are just relieved. The water is very cold out there at this time of the year. Equipment is replaceable but the people aren't," Gee said.

Gee said an investigation is ongoing.