Man who died while swimming at beach named

Long Beach, Russell. Photo / Creative Commons / Montanabw

Police have released the name of the man who died while swimming at Long Beach, Russell, on Saturday.

He was Lino Costy Hellesoe, 53, from Red Beach in Auckland.

Mr Hellesoe was body surfing when he got into difficulties about 4pm.

Two men and a woman, who was believed to have been an off-duty ambulance officer, tried to resuscitate the man for around 15 minutes until emergency services arrived and took over.

A witness said they were "taking it in turns" to provide CPR, but the man died at the scene.

Russell-Orongo Bay Holiday Park owner, Angela Armitage, said at the time that guests had returned to the park "traumatised" after witnessing the incident.

"What drew people to it was the woman screaming," she said.

"The wife was screaming so they went over, and when they realised what was happening they helped to comfort the wife.

"The wife was traumatised and so were the guests."