Fisherman disappears in Raglan surf as group rushes to help

The search for a man missing off Papanui Point, near Raglan since Monday with resume tomorrow. Photo / File

A group of friends quickly clambered up rocks to reach a fisherman struggling in the surf near Raglan, but he had already disappeared when they got to where he was last seen.

Police will tomorrow resume the third day of searching the Ruapuke coastline for a Hamilton man, described as being about 60, who ended up in the surf at about 11am yesterday. A fisherman who was at Papanui Pt when the man disappeared told the Herald his group arrived there at 6am and spoke to the man before finding a spot lower down on the rocks, which he estimated was almost five minutes away from him.

He thought the man had been fishing since midnight Sunday and said the conditions yesterday morning were "rough as guts and blowing a gale". There were between six and eight other people fishing at the point that morning.

But it was not until about five hours later when an Asian man and his wife started yelling out to the group that they realised something terrible had happened.

"We were just fishing away - then all of a sudden 'help, help, help, help' from the little Asian man and we just ran."

The couple had been fishing slightly closer to the man when they heard him calling for help from the water.

"As far as I know, they just saw him out in the water calling for help."

But by the time the friends climbed up the rocks to see the man, he had disappeared.

One of the people on the rocks dialled 111.

"It's terrible, absolutely terrible," the fisherman said.

"To be honest I have no idea how he got in the water.

"None actually saw it happened," he said.

"I have no idea where he fell from. No one will ever know - the only person who will ever know is him unfortunately."

Waikato police Search and Rescue Sergeant Vince Ranger confirmed the search would continue early Wednesday morning and would target the low-tide area around Papanui Pt and both north and south of the Ruapuke coastline.

Ranger said the rough weather conditions would continue to be a factor in the search, but it would not stop them from looking for the man.

A team of four carried out a land search today.

Ranger said police had been working with the family. "They haven't been out there physically searching because they have other things to deal with."

Police are not releasing the man's name at this stage.