A dog has been saved after falling down the cracks of a rock wall and becoming trapped on Auckland’s Ōrewa Beach, as the tide drew nearer.

Diggers were seen lifting rocks at the northern end of the Hibiscus Coast beach after the pet slipped through a cavity in a man-made rock wall and became trapped.

Local resident Darlene Lee, who was on the beach at the time, said crews were working against an incoming tide.

“[The tide] was already lapping at the rocks. They carefully removed rocks to eventually achieve a successful rescue.”

Fire and Emergency were alerted to the incident just after 1pm yesterday and sent one fire truck with three crew members to the scene.

A dog was freed by fire and emergency crew after falling into a cavity in a seawall on Ōrewa Beach, Auckland. Photo / Supplied

A spokesman said two nearby excavators were used to help remove rocks, which freed the dog about 30 minutes after the crew arrived.

Another bystander said the situation became dire at one point.

“For a while with the tide coming in, it seemed very futile, but in the end with persistence and a second construction vehicle to the rescue, they were able to get the dog safely to its owners.”

They said it was a “close call” and everyone cheered when the dog was finally freed.

Onlookers said construction workers in the area, who wore high-vis vests, assisted crews in freeing the dog.

Lee said it was “really lucky” that nothing fell on to the dog when the rocks were moved.

“We were expecting the size of maybe something like a Shih Tzu to be pulled out, so we were surprised when rescue pulled out a medium-sized dog not dissimilar to ours.”

Construction workers and a Fire and Emergency crew worked with an excavator to lift rocks and free the dog. Photo / Supplied

Lee said the wall hasn’t been on that part of the beach for that long, so she posted to Facebook to warn people of the risk.

“I’m a teacher and always looking out for hazards – [I’d] rather prevent something than say, ‘Well, I knew but didn’t bother to do a thing about it’.

“It may be worth the council reassessing this section of the wall for risks and considering the installation of clear warning signage, such as ‘no climbing on the rocks’.”

Sea walls are often used as a barrier against erosion.