Editorial: Water can be very deceptive

The Police National Dive Squad were called in to search the missing 16 year-old male international student.

Driving along the coast into Napier, the water looks so inviting at this time of year.

However, appearances can be deceiving.

In minutes the calm blue waters can turn.

Too often we are reporting about people getting into difficulty in the water.

Occasionally these stories end well.

Just last week, three foreign tourists got into trouble while swimming in a boat channel at Waimarama.

They didn't realise the reef sucks people out in a rip. Fortunately, Sport Hawke's Bay chairman Damon Harvey spotted the trio waving for help. The keen surfer swam out and managed to get them to the rocks.

The tourists were shaken but safe.

Our latest story started out well. A host family took their two international students to Waitangi Lagoon for a dip. They had done so with other students many times in the past.

By all accounts the spot where the pair were swimming was flat and calm but the 16-year-old Korean boy got into trouble. His body was recovered yesterday.

Now two families are mourning a son - his Korean family and his New Zealand host family.

In both cases there were no signs as to where people should or should not swim - Waimarama Surf Life Saving Club patrols the beach at weekends only.

There are warning signs along Napier's Marine Pde near the CBD only.

We could put up more signs but would more signs make a difference? People need to be responsible for their own safety.

And sometimes accidents just happen.