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Searchers have given up trying to find the body of a fisherman swept off rocks yesterday at Whatipu on the northern side of the Manukau harbour entrance in Auckland.
Police believe the Asian man wasn't wearing a life-jacket.
Coastguard Northern Duty officer Rob Wightman says nothing at all has been found in a search of the shoreline this morning and that he is going to wait for word from the police before speculating about any further searches.
Father-of-four Shian Li, 66, was washed off the rocks by a rogue wave while fishing with his son-in-law Gavin Yu Yang and three other Asian men off Burnett Head near Whatipu around 9am yesterday.
An extensive search of the harbour by coastguard vessels and the Westpac rescue helicopter failed to turn up any sign of the missing man, who is now presumed drowned.
When the wave hit, Yang dived into the water and managed to grab Li and pull him back towards the rocks before they were hit again by 1-2m waves, which carried them both out to sea. The other three men managed to get to safety and were interviewed yesterday by police.
"We were just fishing on the rock and a huge wave came and everyone got wet," Yang, who lives in Pakuranga, told the Herald on Sunday. "My father-in-law then dropped in the water and I jumped in after him.
"I was holding his trousers. I got him back to the rock and then he was gone again. It was a big shock. I just wanted to rescue him to a safe place."
Westpac rescue helicopter chief paramedic Barry Watkin said it appeared Li, who may have lost consciousness, became too difficult to hold on to and Yang eventually had to let him go.
Yang, who was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, held on to a small chilly-bin to help stay afloat and after an hour in the water was eventually rescued.
Suffering from hypothermia and some cuts from being pounded against the rocks, he was then ferried by helicopter to Auckland Hospital.
Neither of the two men were wearing lifejackets.
Li, a Chinese national, had been in New Zealand on holiday for the past six months visiting his daughter.
"We will remember him forever because he is very kind to his children and friends," Yang said. "He loved catching and eating snapper and kahawai."
Auckland's west coast has several popular but notorious fishing spots, which have claimed several lives over the past few years.
Last year a rock fisher drowned in the area and in 2005 five people died after being swept off the rocks.
All were Asian and none was wearing a lifejacket.
"We see this all the time," said Brian Chamberlain of the Auckland Regional Council. "We take them out and give them buoyancy vests but they refuse to wear them."
Yang said he often went fishing off Burnett Point and had never encountered waves like yesterday.
But he conceded it was a dangerous fishing spot and warned people to take care.
"I want to warn everybody not to fish there. It is a risky place."
Locals told the Herald on Sunday the sea around Manukau Heads area was extremely rough early yesterday - so bad some commercial fishing trips had to be delayed.
Li's funeral is expected to be held in New Zealand.
- additional reporting NEWSTALK ZB
