A person got into difficulty and was pulled from the water breathing and conscious at Whananaki North yesterday afternoon.
Ambulance, police and the Northland emergency helicopter responded when the alarm was raised about a possible drowning at the popular beach, about 42km north-east of Whangarei.
A Police Northern Communications officer said the person had swallowed a lot of water and was treated at the scene. Few other details were available at edition time.