Schoolgirl lucky to be alive after beach drama near Dunedin

Fourteen-year-old Tamara Cuttriss nearly drowned at Dunedin's Brighton Beach on Sunday. Photo / NZME.

As Tamara Cuttriss blacked out and went under the water her last thought was: "This is it. What a waste. I haven't even lived yet."

The 14-year-old student at Bayfield High School in Dunedin said she was swimming with two friends at Brighton Beach on Sunday, when all three suddenly felt they were being dragged out to sea.

Her two friends, Alyssa Muir and Connor Hastie, both 14, managed to get back to shore, but Tamara was unable to combat the current.

"Connor was the one who raised the alarm, because no one had seen me.

"I was screaming for help but no one came." She said it felt as if she was in a rip because she was being pulled out to sea. "I felt like there was no escape for me. I thought I was going to die.

"The waves that were coming in were pushing me back out. They were coming over the top of me and I just kept going under and I kept getting water in my lungs because I kept trying to breathe in."

She said the Brighton surf life savers came to her rescue on an inflatable and it was just in the nick of time.

"I was so tired. I had given up. I blacked out and they grabbed me just in time before I went right under."

Tamara said she did not remember the boat ride in. The next thing she recalled was waking up on a bed back in the Brighton Surf Club.

She spent the afternoon in Dunedin Hospital receiving treatment, and although she has now recovered, the terror from her ordeal is lasting.

She said she had been traumatised to the point that she was having trouble sleeping at night and it had put her off returning to the beach.

"If I ever did go back, I wouldn't be going into water any deeper than my knees."

She hoped time would heal the wounds, she said.

The close call had dramatically changed her outlook on life, and she said he felt like the luckiest person alive. She has vowed to work hard at school and appreciate her family and friends.

Tamara's mother, Angela Cuttriss, said her daughter was getting special treatment at home. "I'm lucky to have her ... absolutely."