A 17-year-old has drowned this afternoon after being swept away by the Waikato River in Taupo.
A police spokesperson said a body had been located and the dive squad from Wellington was on its way to the scene.
The teenager had been swimming with a group of 11 friends when he got into difficulty in the water near Cherry Island, and despite efforts to keep him afloat, the others were unable to save him.
At about 1.30pm they entered the Waikato River south of the Spa Park thermal pools before deciding to float down to the hot pools, less than 500m away.
The teen's body was found about 300m upstream.
