A 60-year-old man drowned this morning after he was swept off rocks while fishing at a notoriously dangerous spot near Raglan.
Senior Constable Kevin Holmes, of Raglan police, said the Hamilton man was fishing with a 47-year-old friend off Papanui Point, 18km southwest of Raglan, about 10.30am when a wave washed up over the pair and swept the older man off the rocks.
The friend, who managed to shelter behind a rock as the wave washed over them, immediately ran to a nearby farmhouse and alerted police.
Police, local coastguard volunteers and the Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter raced to the scene, but the man was already floating face down about 500m offshore.
"We were able to get quite a clear view and it was clear he had drowned," Mr Holmes told NZPA.
The helicopter returned to shore to prepare to recover the body, but when it took off again the body had disappeared.
Mr Holmes said Hamilton search and rescue staff had launched a shoreline search for the man's body this afternoon.
A search had not commenced earlier because the 3m swells pounding the rocky coast at high tide made it too dangerous. Low tide was about 4.30pm.
It is the second drowning in the area this month.
On March 8, Huntly man John Oxley Small, 64, disappeared from Ruapuke Beach. He was last seen walking into the sea for a swim after earlier going kayaking. His body was found 12 days later.
Papanui Point is at the north end of Ruapuke Beach.
Mr Holmes said Papanui Point was notorious, with three drownings off the point in the past 10 years.
"It's a very popular spot, but it's incredibly dangerous, sometimes a big wave can just come up out of nowhere.
"People fishing there really need to be aware of the risks."
Police have not yet released the drowned man's name.
- NZPA
New Zealand
