The sister of a Kiwi man shot dead onboard his family boat in Panama said they often practiced emergency drills but couldn’t have prepared for what happened.
"They were very conscious of security but there was no way you could have been prepared or even envisage something like this happening," Alan Culverwell's sister Derryn Hughes told 1 NEWS.
Mrs Hughes said the families of Alan and his wife, also called Derryn, want the surviving family home as soon as possible and Alan’s body returned to them.
She said that could take up to three weeks.
The family’s boat has been impounded by police while they investigate the case.
"Everybody who knows Alan and knows of his zest and love of life and love of his family know that he would have taken that bullet for his family," Mrs Hughes said.
Mrs Hughes said her family in New Zealand are proud of Derryn’s actions after being attacked with a machete.
"We just strongly believe had she not taken the action that she took we might have been looking at a worse situation here."
Mrs Hughes received a distress call from Derryn on Thursday night, while they were locked up in the cabin awaiting a rescue from Panama authorities.
"She was very brave, she made a call to New Zealand and through the help with Steve, a dear friend of theirs, he got a rescue underway for the family."
Mrs Hughes told her Alan had been killed over the phone but she had to "fight that off so we could stay focused on her."
"I knew she was injured and asked if her bleeding had stopped and she was unsure cause they were in the dark and she didn’t want to turn any lights on."
Alan’s family feel like something has been stolen from them following his death, Mrs Hughes said.
"He was just one of this world’s really nice guys, he just loved life, he absolutely adored his family and I couldn’t have asked for a better brother.
"I loved him, I still love him," she said.
Mrs Hughes said she would joke to Alan that he was Neptune because she viewed him as “god of the water” because of his strong affinity for the ocean.
The Paua Industry Council has set up a bank account for donations to be made following Alan’s death and a GoFundMe fundraising page has reached more than $16,000 in a day.
Mrs Hughes said her family is very grateful for the generosity of those who have donated and sent messages of support and sympathy.
"It has been outstanding. The messages do count and they do help them.
"It has been heart-warming for her to receive those messages and for us as a family," she said.
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