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Three people have drowned in two separate incidents in Canterbury and the Bay of Plenty this afternoon.
Canterbury Police Inspector Warren Kemp said a man and child were believed to have drowned after getting into difficulties swimming in the Waimakariri River.
A rescue operation there was continuing, he said.
Further north, a middle-aged man drowned in the sea near Whakatane.
The man had been surfing close to the Ohope Motor Camp and was believed to have lived locally, police said.
Inspector Gary Hill said emergency services were alerted to the drowning about 3.35pm and were still at the scene.
This morning, search teams in the Kahurangai National Park, Tasman, recovered the body of a woman who was swept away in the Karamea River yesterday afternoon.
Annemarie Lee, 39, of Lyttleton, had been swimming across the river when the current caught her and her husband.
He managed to grab a branch and pull himself onto land but Ms Lee disappeared.
- NZHERALD STAFF / NZPA
