KEY POINTS:
An Auckland lifeguard is calling for lifesaving devices to be placed at risky coastal spots following a death at the entrance to Manukau Harbour this week.
A man aged in his fifties who had been drinking wine died at Cornwallis wharf on Tuesday after falling into the water.
Police are awaiting the results of an autopsy that will determine whether the man drowned or suffered a medical event such as a heart attack before he fell.
A second man, Joe Raymond of Glen Eden, dived in to save the man but got into trouble himself after swallowing salt water. He was last night recovering from a suspected heart attack in Waitakere Hospital after being rescued by passing boaties.
Police say the incident could easily have ended in two fatalities.
Jonathon Webber, a Piha-based consultant lifeguard who sits on the board of WaterSafe Auckland, told the Herald he would like to see more consistent placements of safety signage and life rings or throw-ropes available to rescuers to throw to people, or at least to dive into the water with, when attempting to save a life.
Mr Webber said it was common for lifeguards to save people who tried to rescue others.
While not wanting to condemn the actions of those people, Mr Webber said he was qualified to save lives and would not do so without a proper flotation device for safety and members of the public should have access to the same support.
"We've got to have a more co-ordinated approach," he said.
"We've got the third highest drowning rate in the OECD, which is not something to be particularly proud of."
Auckland Regional Council staff - responsible for water safety signage and an "angel ring" lifesaving device at Flat Rock at Muriwai Beach - say they are open to increasing the areas where life rings are placed, but their efforts in the past have often been thwarted by vandals.
ARC group manager of parks operation Mace Ward said a life ring at Cornwallis was not replaced after repeated vandalism about five years ago.
However, "we're always open to trying that again", he said.
The ARC took a proactive approach to the matter, with signs at its beaches warning of tidal dangers and other risks.
Titirangi community constable Kevin Morgan, who performed CPR on the man who died on Tuesday, said having a buoyancy aid at Cornwallis was an excellent idea, but the vandalism in the past made it pointless.
"How do you have something available that could save a life but also is not going to be vandalised by some of the idiots and that criminal element that can come along and spoil things?"
Water Safety New Zealand general manager Matt Claridge said two to three drownings out of the annual average of 120 occurred while people were attempting to rescue others.
Mr Claridge said his group would rather educate people to prevent drownings than focus on actions once it was too late.
"The big thing is that the education message will be the fence at the top of the cliff. Any sort of rescue device is the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff."
FISHING SAFETY
* Wear a lifejacket.
* Check the weather conditions before going out.
* Tell people where you are going.
* Carry a cellphone.
