A Mount Maunganui man was shocked by the actions of motorists who ignored his desperate attempts to flag them down after a woman was pulled lifeless from the surf.

A New Zealand woman who had been living in Norway drowned at Mt Maunganui beach last night after swimming with a group of family and friends.

Searchers will spend the next two days scouring the shoreline near Bowentown after a man went missing when his boat capsized off the Bay of Plenty coast.

Two boaties have spoken about the moment they came across a family who survived a capsizing that left a father missing off the Bay of Plenty coast.

A Waihi beach fisherman has told of how he found an upside-down boat at Bowentown Heads last night, shortly before a search was mounted for a missing man.

A teenage mum has been charged with hurting her baby by holding his head under water.

Lisa Hayward wants a family friend who plucked her son Zac from a deadly rip to be recognised for his bravery.

New Zealand had its lowest drowning death toll in six years last year - but the number of power boating-related drownings is increasing.

A fisherman who died after being swept down the Motu River has been identified as 41-year-old Benjamin Robert Tekira from Waimana, near Whakatane.

The body of a 41-year-old man was found last night after he was swept away while trying to cross an East Coast river earlier in the day.

The body of a man has been found, hours after he was swept away at the Motu rivermouth near Whakatane today.

New Zealand's most treacherous beach, Hot Water Beach, is already on its way to racking up another high rescue count in 2013.

A 27-year-old Feilding man who drowned while swimming with friends at Himatangi Beach was believed to be swimming outside the flags.

Placid east coast beaches are keeping surf life savers busy as complacent crowds flock to the white sandy coast.

Police have released the name of the woman who died reportedly trying to save her son at an Eastern Bay beach.

Three people drowned in New Zealand waters this official Christmas holiday period - between 4pm Christmas Eve and 6am today.

Two 12-year-old cousins who have won official praise for their bravery are to meet the man they saved from drowning.

Two 12-year-old boys are being praised by police for saving the life of a drowning man at Waihi Beach yesterday.

A mother has been hailed a hero after she drowned trying to save her son yesterday.

A man watched in horror as his brother drowned in stormy surf at Whiritoa beach on the Coromandel Peninsula on Christmas Eve.

For the past five years, on average, 10 people have drowned in New Zealand waters over the official Christmas holiday period. Water Safety New Zealand wants this dropped to zero.

A 16-year-old Christchurch boy who drowned at Lake Pegasus, north of Christchurch, has been remembered as an active Year 11 student who was a keen rugby, basketball and volleyball player.

A 16-year-old Christchurch boy who drowned at Lake Pegasus north of Christchurch has been remembered as an active sportsman.

Maritime New Zealand and the police are meeting today to discuss whether any charges will be laid over a double drowning in the Hauraki Gulf at the weekend.