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Police have praised the actions of bystanders for helping out at the scene of a drowning in Auckland yesterday, saying their interventions most likely prevented a second death.
An Auckland man, aged about 55, drowned after falling off Cornwallis wharf while fishing at the West Auckland entrance to Manukau Harbour about 8.30am yesterday.
A second man, who tried to rescue him, was hauled from the water by passing boaties after swallowing sea water and getting in difficulty himself.
That man was recovering in Waitakere Hospital where he has been under 24-hour observation.
Senior Sergeant Tony Miller of Henderson said the man who drowned had been drinking alcohol before he died. He was fishing with a sober friend, who had driven the pair to the spot when he fell about 2m from the wharf into the water.
Police could not say if intoxication was a factor in the man's death until a coroner's inquest was held.
Mr Miller praised the fisherman who dived in to help the drowning man and the passing boaties who rescued him.
"If they [the boaties] hadn't launched at the right time we would have had possibly two fatalities," Mr Miller said. "[They were] great actions to attempt to save someone ... it was great community support at a time of trauma and tragedy."
Mr Miller said the incident "reinforces the need for people to wear life jackets when they're fishing and not combine alcohol and water".
Police, the Coastguard, the police Eagle helicopter and volunteer firefighters from Huia all assisted with the rescue, he said.
The dead man's name would not be released until his family had been advised.
Water Safety New Zealand general manager Matt Claridge said the man's death was the 22nd in the country this year.
Fifteen people drowned last month.
