Swimmer dies at Auckland beach

A swimmer has died at Narrow Neck Beach, on Auckland's North Shore, this afternoon.
The man was spotted floating in the water off the beachline around 2pm.

Beach goers and people who were at a function at the nearby Wakatere Boating Club, 10m from the beach, rushed to his aid; pulling him from the water and giving him CPR.

Emergency services also rushed to the scene but were unable to save him.

An organiser of the function at the boating club, who did not want to be named, said the man had been swimming in the water for 10 minutes before getting in trouble.

"He went out swimming. [Then] he was just found floating in the water."

The woman said guests at her event included people with medical training, who took the man out of the water and attempted CPR.

"One of our guests pulled them out of the water," she said. "We had lots of medical people here so they all rushed down.

"People tried to do resuscitation but he was too far gone."

A spokeswoman for St John referred all queries to police.

Police said they responded to the incident at 2.05pm after "a report of a drowning".

The tragedy has been referred to the coroner, who will rule on the cause of death.