Warning over seaside rescues

Published: 6:15PM Wednesday December 30, 2009 Source: ONE News

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A stark warning has been issued for beachgoers to think twice before diving in to save people from New Zealand's dangerous waters.

It comes after a man drowned while rescuing his grandchildren on Northland's notoriously dangerous Ninety Mile Beach on Tuesday.

His death has tipped this year's drowning toll past last year's, with warnings things will get worse in the future.

The grandfather was sucked underneath the water after diving in to save his two grandchildren.

Water Safety New Zealand says going in to help is not always the best option.

"It's a tough one. You see kids in strife in the water. Human nature is to react and go in straight after them. We'd suggest look, weigh it up, check out your skill set with the needs and the environment," says Matt Claridge of Water Safety New Zealand.

Local constable, Marc Black of Kerikeri Police, says the area is a known danger zone.

"The sea is something that should be respected, more so on the west coast because often the flatter looking water is more dangerous with rips," Black says.

But the tragedy did not keep people out of the water on Wednesday.

"We urge parents that if you have children at the beach, lying back reading a book really isn't responsible. It's keeping a close eye on the children and being out in the water with them," says Claridge.

The death in the Far North was one of two drownings on Tuesday.

Former award winning political journalist Helen Bain was swept away after her horse fell trying to cross a river in Wairarapa.

It takes the number of drowning deaths this year to 99, two more than this time last year.

And Water Safety New Zealand is warning that rate will skyrocket in the next couple of decades.

"School pools are closing down and with that there's a lack of support from a funding point of view. So schools aren't inclined to have kids in the water learning how to swim," says Claridge.

Water Safety New Zealand says the country's water safety future rests on the know-how of today's young water lovers.