KEY POINTS:
West coast surf lifesavers are angry at the stupidity shown by swimmers that led to a mass after-hours rescue on Saturday night.
Lifeguards at Sunset Beach, Port Waikato, were at a club barbecue at 7pm when a surfer told them seven people had been swept out to sea.
Earlier, a group of friends from Mt Roskill, Mangere and Otara aged between 21 and 25 had decided to do a day trip either to Mission Bay or Port Waikato, but the difference between the two beaches should have been clear, said club president Malcolm Beattie.
It was an idiotic decision to swim given the tide was heading out, 2m swells were pounding the beach and patrols had finished an hour earlier.
The group had started swimming 400m from the normal patrol area, he said. "The water was really being sucked out at a tremendous rate.
"Thank God they're still alive. I thought we were going to lose a few - they're lucky they're not in body bags.
"There's no question in my mind if we had not had that barbecue we would have lost those people.
"They swum there on an out-going tide, no flags, nobody on the beach. I think they realised they were pretty stupid."
Eight lifeguards took part in the rescue, which took two trips and 25 minutes.
Oxygen had to be administered to two of those rescued and all were taken to warm up at the clubhouse before being allowed to go an hour after the incident.
Mr Beattie said the operation highlighted the risks people took when swimming after hours on dangerous west coast beaches. The people rescued were unable to be contacted last night.
