Girl drowns after vehicles stuck on beach

UPDATE - A three-year-old girl died last night after two vehicles became stranded on a beach.

Attempts to free the vehicles at Rangi Point Beach, Hokianga Harbour in Northland, failed and some people from the group set off to find a tractor to free them.

The girl and her whangae mother were left with the vehicles but after waiting into the early hours the woman decided they should make their way home.

However, the woman became stuck in mud and an incoming wave pulled the child from her grip.

She managed to retrieve the girl and attempted to swim to shore but may have become disorientated.


The woman thinks she was in the water for about three-quarters of an hour with the child holding onto her neck.

Sergeant Malcolm Collins of Kaitaia police station said: "Towards the end of that [time in the water] the little girl, who has had her hands around her mother's neck, has slipped and let go.


"The mother has grabbed her by the legs and managed to use her hands to get closer into shore but she [the girl] was limp by the time she got to shore."


The woman carried the deceased girl to family member's home where police and an ambulance were called.

The name of the girl is not being released until all of her family have been notified. Her birth mother and father have been told.

- HERALD STAFF