A rāhui has been put in place until this afternoon at a beach near Dunedin where a man died after being pulled from the water yesterday. 

Police and paramedics were called to Aramoana Beach around 2.30pm after reports a man was struggling in the water. 

"He was brought from the water and given medical attention but unfortunately was not able to be revived," a police spokesperson said. 

Te Runaka o Ōtākou has ordered the beach closed to swimming and fishing between Heyward Point and Spit Wharf until 3pm today. 

A witness at the scene told the NZME yesterday he was watching surfers at the beach, which was experiencing unusually large waves, when a rescue helicopter arrived to tend to an injured surfer. 

It was "definitely a big day", but the conditions did not seem dangerous to him and all of the surfers he saw seemed experienced, the witness told the Otago Daily Times. 

The death will be referred to the Coroner, police said. 

- by Craig Kapitan, NZ Herald