Police name drowned teen

Police have named the teenager who drowned in the Waikato River, near Lake Taupo yesterday.

He was 17-year-old Bradley Martin, from Wanganui, whose body was retrieved last night, Sergeant Dave Frazer of Taupo police said.

The teenager got into trouble when he was swept away by the river about 1.30pm.

Bradley had been swimming with a group of 11 others when he got into difficulty in the water near Cherry Island.

Despite efforts to keep him afloat, his friends were not able to save him, Mr Frazer said,

Police said one of the young men was celebrating his 18th birthday and the group decided to float down to the hot pools at Spa Park, a distance of no more than 500 metres.

Bradley was found about 300m upstream from the pools after police and the coastguard carried out a search of the area.

- NZPA