A woman in her early 20s drowned and two other young women were hauled from the surf in a dramatic beach rescue at remote Hukatere on Ninety Mile Beach.
A police spokesman said the drowned woman was among three young German tourists who went into the water swimming at the spot 38 kilometres north west of Kaitaia, on Wednesday afternoon.
A police officer responding to the alarm raised at 3.40pm was among rescuers who rushed into the water to haul the struggling swimmers to safety. It is understood he was in the surf for 20 minutes, during which time he helped drag two of the swimmers from the water.
The drowned woman was reported missing in the surf. Rescuers found her unconscious and got her on to the beach at about 4.10pm.
Pukenui Rural Fire Party crew and others performed CPR for at least 20 minutes while waiting for an ambulance to reach the scene.