RESCUE CHAIN: James Bunning got into trouble while trying to rescue a man who tried to rescue two other people at Uretiti on Christmas Eve.
Up to 20 people fishing for crabs were rescued from treacherous waters off a Northland beach before a Chinese man died after being swept out to sea.
The 25-year-old man was with a group at Uretiti Beach on Christmas Day when he was caught in the rip at low tide, about 5pm.
His body was found in shallow water nearly two hours later, 400 metres south of where he had been swept away.
The search for him had involved lifesavers from Ruakaka Beach Surf Club several kilometres to the north, four inflatable craft and the Northland Electricity rescue helicopter. Locals and campers, who described the beach over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as "mayhem", praised the Ruakaka lifesavers who rescued eight people, while beachgoers pulled about 10 others to safety over the two days.
One man said he dragged three people out of the water in separate incidents on Christmas Day alone, in conditions "as rough as guts".
Four people - two of whom were fishing for crabs - were lucky to survive an incident on Christmas Eve.
Auckland man Lee Petrie went to help two people caught in the strong rip; a woman who had been swept out first and her son who had gone to help her.
Mr Petrie said the pair were about 100 metres off shore when he started out and about 200 metres by the time he reached them. The woman was barely able to hold her head up. Mr Petrie paddled back to shore with her while her son made it back on his own.
"We were nearly there when we got separated by a crashing wave. She was washed in, I was washed back out," Mr Petrie said.
But by then he was in trouble.
When the alarm was raised about Mr Petrie's plight Ruakaka man James Bunning "instinctively" went to the rescue.
"My instinct took over and I dived in. I'm a strong swimmer but I was just getting smashed around in the waves. It was as rough as guts."
Mr Bunning managed to reach the exhausted man and hold him up for about 15 minutes before he too became beaten by the rip and bashing surf and had to let go. Mr Bunning said he barely made it back to shore himself.
Mr Petrie, meanwhile, had seen a crabpot buoy and used his remaining energy to get to it.
"I knew I could hold on to that float for my life."
He was rescued 15 minutes later, after being in the water 45 minutes, by lifesavers in an IRB (inflatable rescue boat). He was treated by ambulance staff for water inhalation and a knock to the head he got while being dragged into the boat.
The Advocate was told there were several hundred people, many of whom were crabbing, near the entrances to Uretiti Beach on either side of the camping ground over both days.
By comparison, yesterday there were very few people on the beach.
Police had not released the dead man's identity yesterday as his next of kin in China had not yet been informed.
The drowning and the spate of rescues has some regular beachgoers calling for a permanent patrol at Uretiti, and signs written in the relevant languages warning people about the dangers of crabbing there.
Chase Cahalane, from Surf Lifesaving Northern region, urged people not to lay crab pots off Uretiti Beach at this time of the year because conditions were dangerous.
"It's very treacherous at low tide with a deep inshore trough and a deep channel running parallel to the beach so the conditions are not ideal for laying crab pots," Mr Cahalane said.
The fact Uretiti Beach did not have flags and was not patrolled by lifeguards made matters worse in terms of rescues, Mr Cahalane said.
The dead man was the second Chinese person to drown on Christmas Day at Uretiti Beach while catching paddle crabs in recent years. Hui Jin, 47, a cafe owner, drowned there on December 25, 2011.
Ministry of Primary Industries Northland acting district compliance manager, Stephen Rudsdale, said a lot of people, particularly from Auckland, come to Uretiti Beach at this time of the year for paddle crabs because the water was warm. He said there was a limit of 50 paddle crabs per person a day.