Listen
The wife of Blue Ferry skipper Bill Elliot has spoken for the first time as the wider family gathers at his bedside.
The 77 year old was airlifted from Paihia to Auckland's Middlemore Hospital and has undergone surgery to critical injuries this afternoon.
Lois Elliot says she and her husband have run the Blue Ferry business since 1999.
She says he is an experienced, vigilant skipper who had never been involved in an accident before.
She spoke exclusively to reporter Jordan Dunn and told him news of the accident came as a terrible shock.