Dead man, believed drowned, on Takapuna Beach on Auckland’s North Shore

A man allegedly drowned on Takapuna Beach on Auckland’s north shore.

A spokeswoman for St John said paramedics were called to a “water incident” on Hauraki Rd at around 12:40 pm.

An ambulance and a manager were dispatched to the scene, he said.

Witness Peter Gordon was sitting on the beach when the incident unfolded and said a group of men entered the beach from a nearby construction site.

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The group swam about 150 meters to a buoy, turned to swim side to side, before swimming back to shore.

Gordon realized that the workers frequently went swimming at lunchtime.

One of the men at the back of the group was fighting, he said, as the rest of the group returned to the construction site.

“He was stopping, swimming a little, stopping.”

Gordon leaned over to pick up his drink bottle, but the man was gone when he sat down again.

Gordon assumed he had returned to shore, as there was a man on the beach of a similar age, but 10 minutes later he heard some commotion and realized that a body had been found in the water.

“No one realized that he had sunk and drowned.”

He heard from other people on the beach that a doctor was there and had given the man CPR for about 15 minutes.

He understood that the man was 50 years old.

Gordon said he felt guilty about the incident, but was not a good swimmer and would not have been able to help.

It is not the first time someone has drowned in front of him, he added. He had helped remove the body of a German tourist from the sea at Muriwai Beach some 20 years ago, an event he still thought about often.

“It’s a bit sad, yes.”

A police spokesman confirmed that there had been a sudden death on Auckland’s popular north shore beach.

Investigations are still ongoing and the circumstances are unclear, he said.