Warning to heed dangers

No matter how far you have to walk to get there or how crowded a beach is — always swim at lifeguardedpatrolled beaches and between the flags,” implores a Surf Life Saving New Zealand manager after three waterrelated deaths in three days in the region this week.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s eastern region lifesaving manager Chaz Gibbons-Campbell said it’s been a tragic few days in the water at Coromandel and Whangamatā, that included a 78-year-old man who could not be revived on January 17 after he went missing while swimming at an estuary in Whangamatā.

A police spokesperson said a rescue helicopter found the missing swimmer, but there were unsuccessful attempts to revive him.

On Wednesday, a rescue mission was launched after a group of seven people got into trouble in “very rough surf” at Ō poutere Beach. One man died, another male teenager is still missing and several others were rescued, including one who is in a critical condition in hospital.

Another man died in a waterrelated incident about 2.30am yesterday on Tairua-Whitianga Rd near Coroglen, a police spokesperson said.

On Wednesday, emergency services launched a massive response just before 11.30am and the search for a missing male teenager continued on Thursday.

Six people, out of a group of seven, were seen waving their arms for help in the water before they were pulled from the sea, but one man was unable to be revived. One was flown to a hospital in a critical condition, another in a moderate condition was taken to Thames Hospital, and three others were in a minor condition.