One person dead after boat capsizes on Auckland’s Manukau Harbour

One person has died after a boat capsized on the Manukau Harbour this morning.

Police were alerted to the incident just before 10am.

Six other people were recovered from the water and are being treated by ambulance staff.

The Coastguard Operations Centre said it was alerted at 9.39am to a vessel that had capsized on the Manukau Bar.

Coastguard Waiuku was immediately dispatched, and an all-stations mayday call was broadcast over VHF. Several nearby boaties responded without hesitation, helping to recover seven people from the water.

Volunteers from Coastguard Waiuku met the assisting vessels at Little Huia to provide first aid and check the wellbeing of those rescued.

“Tragically, one person passed away,” it said in a statement. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to their family and friends during this difficult time.”

Police and ambulance at Huia after a fishing boat overturned on the Manukau Bar. Photo / Alex Burton

Coastguard Auckland Air Patrol searched the South Channel for the overturned boat, while Coastguard Papakura checked the front of the bar. Unfortunately, the vessel is believed to have sunk and could not be located.

Coastguard vessels and the air patrol were stood down between 11am and 11.48am.

The Coastguard said in a statement that bars like the Manukau Bar can be unpredictable and dangerous.

“We encourage all boaties to refresh their knowledge by attending one of our Bar Awareness seminars, held across the country and online.”

In a statement, police thanked volunteers from Coastguard Waiuku, Coastguard Papakura and the Auckland Coastguard Air Patrol for their assistance.

One person has died and six others were rescued from the water. Photo / Alex Burton

Coastguard Operations Centre was alerted to a vessel that had capsized on the Manukau Bar on October 20, 2024. Photo / Coastguard

The Manukau Harbour is notoriously dangerous for boaties.

In August, the body of a man who went missing when a boat capsized on the Manukau Harbour was found. A survivor of the upturned boat raised the alarm after a treacherous swim to shore in large swells two days earlier.

In 2022, a woman and her 10-year-old son drowned after a boat capsized on Manukau Harbour having clung to the upturned hull for several hours, and at one point were even safe while walking on a sandbar.

But, when the sandbar fell away abruptly they dropped into deep water where they were unable to stay afloat any longer.

A year later, three people died in a boating tragedy when four people aboard a boat overturned at Manukau Heads.

In 2019, Joe Tetou Williams died after the boat he was in flipped crossing the notorious Manukau Bar. Williams and two companions were thrown into the water. The boat sank immediately.

One person at today’s scene described conditions as very settled.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.