Woman dies after being pulled from rip at West Auckland’s Piha Beach; rescuers perform CPR for almost an hour

A woman has died after being caught in a rip at Piha Beach, West Auckland. Photo / Jessica Halliday

A woman has died following a water-related incident at West Auckland’s notorious Piha Beach.

A Surf Life Saving NZ (SLSNZ) spokesperson confirmed off-duty Piha lifeguards and the Piha Search and Rescue squad responded to an incident on South Piha beach on Tuesday afternoon.

“One person was rescued from the water,” they said.

The beach was unpatrolled at the time and the female swimmer was caught in a rip. It’s understood she was pulled unresponsive from the water.

“An inflatable rescue boat [IRB] was launched to retrieve the patient, and CPR was commenced by surf lifeguards at the scene. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Hato Hone St John also responded to the incident, however, the patient was unable to be resuscitated.

“Surf Life Saving New Zealand extends its sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the victim.

“The surf lifeguards involved in the incident have been debriefed by a duty officer and have access to mental health support services.”

The Herald understands rescuers performed CPR on the patient for almost an hour, but she could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said they were notified of an incident at Marine Parade South, Piha, at 3.36pm.

“One first responders unit, one ambulance, and one helicopter responded.”

Police confirmed in a statement the person had been caught in a rip.

“Medical attention was administered, however, sadly the person died near the scene,” they said.

“Our thoughts are with their family and loved ones.”

The death will be referred to the coroner.

The death comes after another Piha rescue on Monday where young men got into dangerous conditions.

Three people on boogie boards had positioned themselves in a hole in the middle of the beach, a deeper area of the shore bed.

“It’s like a washing machine there. There’s a lot of water moving about but not much current – so people can get stuck there. It’s the most dangerous part of the beach at the moment, it’s really difficult to get out if you get stuck in a hole like that,” said surf lifesaver Sam Johns.

Suddenly a large wave pounded through and swept the men off their boards. One managed to make it to shore while the other two tried to keep their heads above water while they waved for help.

“Their heads were going under with each wave that came through, they were swallowing water, and they were just exhausted,” Johns said.

“By the time we reached them, they were ‘climbing the ladder’ trying to stay buoyant, so we knew they were in serious trouble. It was a pretty gnarly situation.”

All three men had swallowed a lot of water and had low oxygen saturation, with the two rescued men going in and out of consciousness.

The men were transferred to hospital by ambulance with crackly lungs – a potential symptom of aspiration.

It’s prompted SLSNZ to issue a stark reminder as schools and universities break up for summer and people begin heading to the beach in greater numbers.

“People drown at unpatrolled beaches. Don’t overestimate your abilities, and don’t underestimate the conditions. Please swim between the flags at a patrolled beach. If the flags aren’t up, don’t go in,” CEO Steve Fisher said.