Frantic rescue efforts by Northland beachgoers yesterday failed to save a man swept to his death in a strong rip after being knocked over by a rogue wave.
The 20-year-old Auckland man, a poor swimmer, was walking in shallow water with four mates at the normally safe Ngunguru Beach, about 24km north of Whangarei yesterday.
All five were knocked down by a rogue wave but the missing man was caught in a strong rip and carried out to sea, in what police called a freak and tragic accident.
Police searching for the man's body today said one of his four mates swam to his aid after he was spotted floundering in the surf.
The rescuer reached his friend, who was struggling to stay afloat, but they were separated by waves.
The missing man was believed to have panicked and may have pulled his rescuer under the surface.
"They were hit by a wave, he lost sight of him and that was the last they saw of him," said search controller, Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe.
He said the man and his four friends were doing nothing wrong.
"They were walking in the surf between knee and waist deep (water) and a rogue wave has knocked five of them over and the undertow has sucked him out through the waves."
Mr Metcalfe said the beach was not known for its rips and was considered a safe swimming beach.
"We have never come across this before."
He said the tidal movements in the last couple of months had altered the beach and caused the rip.
Mr Metcalfe said there was no alcohol involved and the five men were walking on the beach after a game of touch ruby.
It was a totally innocent tragedy.
"We were lucky we didn't lose a few more."
"It was a freak accident. They weren't skylarking or fooling around. He was the unlucky one of the whole bunch who was caught in the rip."
The search continued today with shore searchers after an extensive shore and aerial search yesterday.
The man's name is yet to be released.
He was one of four drowning deaths yesterday, bringing the toll so far this year to 34.
Invercargill man Kenneth Mark Tressler, 45, drowned when he fell from his kayak on the Mararoa River, near the Mavora Lakes in northern Southland.
A Brazilian man, Natanael Silva Costa, 22, who was living in Ashburton, drowned while swimming at nearby Lake Hood and a 51-year-old Korean man was also swept to his death while fishing off Cape Saunders on the Otago Peninsula.
NZPA