Editorial: Safety first in sea as one drowning is one too many

Andrew Austin, editor of Hawke's Bay Today.

The distinctive sound of the Lowecorp Rescue Helicopter overhead and a police car's siren as it raced along Waimarama Rd on Sunday evening alerted me to the fact that something major had happened at one of the Bay's most popular beaches.

It is never good to hear the sound of the chopper or sirens, as it inevitably means there has been a tragedy.

And so it proved to be, with a man drowning and two others taken to hospital after an incident early on Sunday night.

As tragic as it was, it was made worse because it came after a very successful Waimarama Beach day where crowds of people enjoyed a fine time in perfect beach weather.

The local hapu has placed a rahui on the area where the drowning occurred.

The incident happened about 7pm after three people - poor swimmers, believed to be foreigners - got into difficulty in the water north of the Waimarama Surf Life Saving Club. Lifeguards and members of the public assisted with the rescue.

The lifeguards out at Waimarama, and Ocean Beach where I often go, do a fantastic job and once again deserve credit for their rescue efforts as do all the locals who got involved.

The rescue helicopter crew, who never really know what they are going to find when they go out on a job, also deserve praise as, do St John Ambulance and the police who were in attendance on Sunday.

More details of what actually happened will continue to come out this week, but once again it highlights the dangers of ocean swimming.

Safety for yourself and especially your children should be the number one priority when going to the beach.

One person drowning is one too many.