Rescue numbers continue to rise with summer halfway gone

Surf lifeguards patrolling this weekend (Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 January) performed 24 rescues across the country, with nine of those rescues conducted at Raglan as festival-goers celebrated Soundsplash. Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) says that, with summer now past halfway, surf lifeguards continue to see high beach numbers and increasing pressure on patrols, particularly at unpatrolled areas and during large events.

SLSNZ General Manager – Lifesaving, Andy Kent says surf lifeguards are responding to a combination of warm weather, large crowds and challenging coastal conditions.

“With more people heading to the coast and spending longer periods in the water, we’re continuing to see rescue numbers track higher than usual for this point in the season,” says Kent. “Many of these rescues are occurring outside flagged areas, where conditions such as rip currents can quickly catch people out.”

Kent says proactive lifeguarding remains critical as summer progresses.

“Our surf lifeguards are working incredibly hard to identify risks as early as possible, direct people to swim in the flagged area, and respond quickly when things go wrong. But the safest choice beachgoers can make is to swim at a patrolled beach and always stay between the red and yellow flags,” he says.

Beachgoers can use Safe Swim to check conditions, and to confirm whether a beach is patrolled by surf lifeguards. 

The weekend’s operations included: 

Saturday:

• Early Saturday evening, SLSNZ was advised of a person found unresponsive and face down in the water near Jacobs Ladder, between Red Beach and Ōrewa. They were pulled from the water by members of the public in a serious condition. The Ōrewa Search & Rescue squad was activated and provided support to ambulance staff on scene, while the Northern Rescue Helicopter was deployed by ambulance to transport the person.
• At Muriwai (Māori Bay) on Saturday evening, an off-duty lifeguard spotted a surfer in distress at Māori Bay near Sugarloaf rock. The Muriwai Search & Rescue squad was activated, with a rescue water craft (RWC – jetski) deployed to search the area alongside surf lifeguards conducting a land-based search from the rocks. No person of interest was located, and lifeguards were subsequently stood down by Police.
• Surf lifeguards at Raglan were kept busy with festival-goers attending Soundsplash. Lifeguards reported more than 2,000 people on the beach and completed nine rescues and 21 assists. They also provided first aid to four patients with minor injuries.
• At Ōmanu, surf lifeguards responded to a woman who was pulled from the water complaining of neck and spinal pain. An ambulance was called, and surf lifeguards provided primary care until ambulance staff arrived and transported the patient to hospital.
• Surf lifeguards providing event water safety at the Loan Market Oceanside Tauranga Half Ironman responded to an emergency involving a competitor in difficulty. The individual signalled for assistance, and lifeguards responded via inflatable rescue boat (IRB), retrieving the patient and returning them to shore. CPR was commenced in the IRB, and the patient was handed over to event medical providers. Surf Life Saving New Zealand understands that resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and offers its sincere condolences to the person’s friends, family and whānau. Any further enquiries should be directed to Police, who will provide additional information at their discretion.

Sunday:

• At Muriwai, surf lifeguards were alerted by a member of the public to a kayaker in distress at Māori Bay. Muriwai lifeguards launched a rescue water craft (RWC – jetski) and successfully retrieved the person from the water. They were returned to shore and did not require medical assistance. Later in the day, at the end of patrol, surf lifeguards at Muriwai responded to a young woman experiencing a seizure. Surf lifeguards transported the patient to the first aid room and provided care until ambulance staff arrived and transported the patient to hospital in a serious condition.

Aggregated patrol statistics: