“Paramedics arrived soon after 8pm and, with the assistance of lifeguards, transported her off the beach and up to the main carpark area.
“She was then transported by helicopter to Middlemore Hospital, leaving Raglan soon after 9pm.”
Ibbs said an incident like this highlighted the importance of never swimming alone and always swimming at a lifeguarded beach.
“The Surf Life Saving Northern Region Paid Lifeguard Service patrols the region’s busiest beaches Monday to Friday through the busiest 16 weeks of summer and were thankfully there at the club to quickly respond.
“If you find anyone in trouble in the water or on our beaches please call 111 and ask for the police who will liaise with Surf Life Saving directly.”
Two days ago, one person died and a search is still underway for another person missing after a water incident at a Coromandel beach.
One person was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition after emergency services launched a mass response to the incident at Opoutere Beach.
Police had confirmed six people from a group of seven, seen signalling for help in the water, were rescued but one person “was unable to be revived”.
Holidaymakers had told the Herald about their desperate efforts to save the family - believed to be from Central Hawkes Bay - caught in “very rough” surf off the isolated beach.
The search continues for the missing person, a police spokesperson said, and a fixed-wing plane would help later this afternoon.
A St John Ambulance spokesperson said three helicopters, three ambulances and two managers went to the scene on Ohui Rd at 11.27am.
Last month, four people were pulled from the water in Raglan - three of whom were unconscious.
Emergency services responded to the multiple near-drowning in the water by Marine Parade about 3.25pm on December 28.
A St John spokesperson said they responded with two ambulances, one helicopter, a first response unit and a rapid response vehicle.
“Four patients were taken to Waikato Hospital via two ambulances and one helicopter; two in a serious condition; two in a moderate condition.”
A Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand spokesperson for the Waikato District said in a statement this morning that the patients had been discharged and sent home.
The incident came as Surf Life Saving Northern Region chief executive Matt Williams issued an “urgent” plea to parents to closely supervise children in the water and on the beach.
He had said watching your kids from the shore “simply isn’t enough”.
“Please don’t overestimate your ability or your children’s ability to cope in the conditions,” Williams said in a statement.
“They should be within an arm’s reach. Our tamariki are particularly susceptible to strong currents, and with all the water we have seen moving about they can quickly be swept away.”
New Zealand’s water-related death toll passed its highest annual toll in a decade after a scuba diver died north of Auckland yesterday.
Water Safety NZ has recorded 91 preventable drowning deaths this year, 77 of them males, which is the first time the statistic has passed 90 since 2011.
Over the past 10 years, 89 per cent of beach drowning victims in New Zealand have been male.
“We want people to get out and enjoy our beautiful waterways and beaches but don’t want them, mainly men, making bad choices and taking big risks,” Water Safety NZ chief executive Daniel Gerrard said.
