Four people in hospital after boat flips on Tairua bar near Pauanui

Paramedics and lifeguards resuscitated a man twice on the beach at a holiday hotspot as they scrambled to rescue five people tossed into the water when a boat flipped on Tairua bar near Pauanui.

The man, in his 60s was flown to Waikato Hospital in serious condition this afternoon while a boy and girl in a critical condition, and a woman in her thirties with minor injuries, were flown to Starship and Auckland Hospitals. Another person on board the boat at the time was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

It's the latest in a growing list of tragic water incidents this summer, with the drowning toll now sitting at 28 after a child died after an incident at Mangamate Waterfall, on the Whirinaki River iin the central North Island.

Emergency services rushed to the Tairua bar in the Coromandel Peninsula for the second time this week after a boat flipped on Wednesday afternoon.

A witness said three rescue helicopters had landed in the area, a popular holiday spot, and the Coastguard was also involved.

Video shot at the scene showed people holding up a sheet as ambulance officers worked near a Surf Lifesaving IRB. It also showed a semi-submerged boat near shore.

The boat that flipped at the Tairua bar in Coromandel this afternoon. Photo / Supplied

Aucklander Campbell Wright was on a boat going out fishing when he saw 20 to 30 people in the water trying to right the stricken vessel, which he believed was a pleasure boat about 5m long.

"There was a massive line of people trying to right the boat. It took a lot of people and a long time. There was a big cheer when they got it over."

Along with the rescue helicopters, two ambulances, two managers and a rapid response unit were sent to the Vista Paku area to help.

The incident comes two days after a boatload of people had a lucky escape when rough seas flipped their vessel on Tairua bar.

"It is a treacherous bar, especially at low tide," said Andrew Gibson, president of the Tairua-Pauanui Coastguard unit, at the time.

Meanwhile, three more drownings were confirmed by police on Wednesday, bringing the summer toll to 28.

It has been the worst summer so far for drownings in New Zealand since 2015, according to Water Safety New Zealand.

A Masterton man, 58, died in Wellington Hospital after a water incident at St Matthew's Collegiate School on Monday.

And police recovered a body in the search for a swimmer who went missing in the Waikato River on Monday.

The man was last seen jumping into the water from or near the jetty at Hamilton Gardens.
Initial reports to police indicated that a group of four people had gone into the river but only three had come back to shore.

It sparked a massive search and rescue effort downriver towards Claudelands Bridge, including the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, boat, jet ski, and police national dive squad.

Emergency services attended several other water incidents on Wednesday also.

A person was taken to Gisborne Hospital after a water incident on the beach at Centennial Marine Dr in Awapuni.

Last summer, 25 drownings were recorded across the whole three-month period, which is also the average over the past five summers.

Twenty people drowned in the month of December 2021, more than double the figure for the previous December, when there were nine.

Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Daniel Gerrard said on Tuesday the uptick in fatalities was "unprecedented".