Teen girl loses battle to save classmate

Tu'a Alo (left) and Edward Magalogo were swept away by a

A teenage girl who tried desperately to save her classmate from drowning has told of the moment he was ripped from her arms.

Tu'a Alo, 17, was one of a group of students from Tangaroa College in South Auckland who were on a geography field trip to Muriwai Beach on Friday.

Her good friend and neighbour, 18-year-old Edward Magalogo - known as Eddy - was also on the trip.

Tu'a, a Year 13 student, was standing in knee-deep water with Edward when she saw him lose his balance and fall into the surf.

She believes he was affected by some kind of medical condition.

"His head fell near my leg," she said. "I reached down and grabbed him and brought him back up. He was wiping his eyes like he couldn't see."

The two were about to turn to face the waves when "this massive wave came up from behind us and took us out, far".

The pair were taken out of their depth.

"That's when I started panicking," Tu'a told the Herald.

"I grabbed Eddy's hand and we were just holding hands, going under and screaming for help. The last thing he said to me was, 'Just scream out for help'."

But another wave separated them.

"I turned around and Eddy was face down. I started crying when I saw him face down in the water. I was screaming, 'Help, help, help'."

A surfer, his brother and a woman made their way towards the pair to help, while Tu'a tried to reach Edward.

"When they put him on the surfboard, Eddy's face was already white and his lips were purple. I was crying and crying and telling him, 'Come on bro, you can do it, pull through'."

Students rushed to get Edward out of the water, then began CPR - a procedure they had been learning at school that week.

"Everybody was crying. All the boys were trying to be strong and telling Eddy, 'Come on uso [brother], be strong, you can do this'."

The Westpac rescue helicopter flew Edward, unconscious, to Auckland City Hospital, where he died on Sunday morning.

Edward's grieving parents - who do not want to be named - have disputed earlier reports that their son's life support system was turned off. They say he died peacefully about 8.20am.

His mother said she felt "empty" when she was told her son was in hospital in a critical condition.

His family say Edward - who was also known by his Samoan name, Eti - was always cheeky, but forever helping others.

An older sister said: "He was our babysitter, dishwasher, rubbish man. He would do everything and anything for anybody."

Edward's family are Mormons, and he had planned to become a missionary.

Tu'a said she had wanted to visit Edward on Friday night, but had been told by a school dean not to go.

"I wanted to say my last words to him. I wanted to go in and say, 'I'm sorry I couldn't help you to get out of the water'.

"I think she [the dean] wanted to protect me ... but the teachers told the family he came out to save a girl - me - when that wasn't true."

Tangaroa College will hold a memorial assembly for Edward today.