Six people, out of a group of seven were seen waving their arms for help in the water before they were pulled from the ocean but one person “was unable to be revived”, police said.
The search continues for the missing person, a police spokesperson said, and a fixed-wing plane was deployed to help the effort.
On Tuesday a man went missing in the water in Whangamatā.
A police spokesperson said emergency services responded to a report of a man missing near the estuary, shortly after 6pm.
A rescue helicopter found him but he was unable to be revived.