Teen ignores lifeguard's warning

A 14-year-old girl nearly drowned in the surf at Piha yesterday, minutes after being warned about the dangers of where she was entering the water.

The girl and her family, who are understood to be from Thailand, had gone to the beach yesterday afternoon with no intention of going swimming but waded into the water near the rivermouth at the southern end of the northern beach, which is not patrolled.

North Piha Surf Lifesaving patrol captain Gareth Neilson said that part of the beach was particularly dangerous and a lifeguard went to warn the family.

However, they ignored the warning - possibly due to language barriers - and the 14-year-old got caught in a strong rip.

She swallowed a large amount of water and started having trouble breathing.

Mr Neilson said a man on a boogie board saw what was happening and came to the girl's aid.

Lifeguards arrived soon after and put the girl on oxygen until an ambulance arrived. She was taken to Waitakere Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

Mr Neilson said the family had never been on a West Coast beach and did not pay attention to the warnings. They were lucky the girl survived.

"We did what we could.

"We warned them about the dangers ... "

"We are lucky that the boogie boarder was able to get to her. Another 10 minutes and she could have gone under and we would have being looking for a body."

He urged people to take care at the beach, especially if they are unfamiliar with the territory, and check with lifeguards about the best place to swim.