Witnesses at Tāwharanui where a man drowned yesterday said they had earlier got out of the water because the strong currents and rips “spooked” them.

Jeri Brunton was at the Anchor Bay beach, north of Auckland, and left the water around the same time an “older” man was pulled on to the sand and given emergency CPR.

“It felt like there was a rip in the water so I had actually gotten out because I got spooked by the current,” Brunton said.

“And right around that time we noticed the helicopters.”

The man’s death at Tāwharanui was among six water-related deaths in the Auckland region since Friday, with police confirming a person died at the beach shortly before 2pm yesterday.

St John Ambulance sent two helicopters and two ambulances to the scene.

Witnesses said the man had got in trouble in the water.

A rescue helicopter lands at Tawharanui regional park where a man drowned yesterday. Photo / Jeri Brunton

Another woman at the scene, who didn’t wish to be named, said she had also left the water because it was rough.

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She said she and her children spent about five minutes in the water, but the waves kept “getting higher and higher” while the currents were “crazy” and dragging them around.

“I could just feel we are going deeper,” she said.

“I said to the kids we need to get out of the water now.”

“It is very, very rough ... it’s not safe to swim at that time.”

As the woman gathered her kids and left the water, she saw a man, she described as looking like he was aged in his 50s, being brought on to the sand.

“I think it was two people, dragging someone out of the water,” she said.

Members of the public ran to help.

“There were people trying to resuscitate him, give him CPR,” she said.

“A family member of mine does have a course in it so he ran down and he helped as well.”

Desperate beachgoers performed CPR on a man for 30 minutes until paramedics arrived at Takatu Rd in Anchor Bay, she said.

The woman said it was not clear who the man’s family were, but she did see a woman near to the revival efforts looking distraught.

Despite the chaotic opening moments of the rescue, the woman said the public quickly organised themselves and worked well together to try to revive the man.

Four people identified themselves as being experienced, including one woman believed to be a nurse, while other members of the public gave them room to work.

They then took turns at performing CPR, witnesses said.

The woman, whose family member helped with the CPR, said those trying to revive the man could feel his pulse, but it would come and go.

“It just went on and on like that,” she said.

Fellow witness Brunton also praised the efforts of those giving CPR.

Watching from afar, she said half of her was busy hoping the man could be revived while the other half was simultaneously shocked by the “fragility of life”.

She said her family had also recently experienced a health scare that brought home the scale of the tragedy they were witnessing on the beach.

“So when we were standing on the beach watching, we all started to talk about how that could be us - it could be anybody here on the beach.”

“Anybody that’s gone through that as a family, it would have triggered those emotions for them.”

Horror weekend as drowning toll rises to six

All of the six drownings over the weekend occurred at beaches or residences that aren’t patrolled by lifeguards, Surf Live Saving NZ said.

They included Sunday’s drowning at unpatrolled Tawharanui Regional Park.

On Saturday, one person died at Takapuna, while two people died at North Piha despite United North Piha lifeguards’ attempts to rescue them after patrols had ended for the day, Surf Life Saving Northern Region chief executive Matt Williams said.

Two people also drowned at unpatrolled beaches on Friday, one at Narrow Neck Beach on Auckland’s North Shore, and another at Big Manly Beach on the Whangaparāoa peninsula.

By comparison, two people were saved when suffering spinal injuries on patrolled beaches over the weekend.

“Both incidents occurred between the flags, caused by swimmers being dumped into the sand by large waves, and could easily have proven fatal had lifeguards not been on hand to respond.”

Williams said comparing the lifesaving incidents with the drownings showed a clear link to the importance of lifeguards.

He called on people to swim between the flags.

“Simply put, if you swim at a patrolled beach, during patrol hours, in between the flags, you are going to have a lifeguard nearby who can respond immediately if something happens,” he said.

“If you swim at an unpatrolled beach, or outside patrol hours, you are placing yourself at an incredible risk. These deaths were tragic, but some may have been preventable if lifeguards were actively patrolling the area.”