Rescue hero fights for life after Browns Bay tragedy

By ANNE BESTON


A woman who risked her life trying to save a young boy from drowning at a North Shore suburban beach was fighting for her life in North Shore Hospital late last night.

The woman, believed to be aged about 50, went into the water after the 7-year-old, his twin sister and a teenage sister got into difficulty while playing with two boogie boards at Browns Bay. The woman also got into difficulties.

The accident happened on a calm, sunny day, although the tide was going out and there was an offshore breeze.

The pretty bay with its nearby busy shopping strip, within easy drive of central Auckland, is renowned for its safe swimming and on a school holiday Friday was packed with families.

When people on the beach realised the group's plight, they quickly swam to help.

One was an off-duty police officer, who helped resuscitate the 7-year-old girl on the sand, but her brother died at the scene. His name was not available last night.

The teenage sister and the unnamed woman were taken to North Shore Hospital and were in a critical condition.

The North Shore police area commander, Inspector Mike Hill, said the accident happened just after 4pm, about an hour after high tide.

Efforts were made to resuscitate all four people on the beach as emergency services were arriving.

"It's thanks to members of the public who went out and brought them back in - and the swift arrival of the emergency services - that has given us some hope for the two people taken to hospital," he said.

Earlier, police had been unable to identify the older woman and had appealed to the media to broadcast details of her belongings so family members would come forward.

Police finally received a call about 10.30pm and believed they knew who the woman was.

Police spokesman Jayson Rhodes said a family member had been taken to North Shore Hospital and the woman's identity confirmed.

She was from Auckland but not a Browns Bay resident, he said.

Mr Hill said that although the sea was calm, accidents were always a possibility when people went into deeper water.

"It's always an issue when people get out of their depth. It's a shame but these things do happen."

While half-a-dozen police were grouped on the foreshore and the police Eagle helicopter circled overhead, people further from the scene of the drowning continued to swim and play, unaware of the accident.

A crowd had gathered on the grassy reserve at the southern end of the beach as the tragedy unfolded, unable to believe a young boy could lose his life at the placid bay.

Bystanders fell silent as the dead boy was taken by stretcher from the sand to a waiting ambulance.