Lifesavers have praised the efforts of a father who saved his daughter from possible drowning, after she and her boyfriend got into difficulties while swimming at Anaura Bay near Gisborne.
The couple in their early 20's had gone for a swim about 8pm on Monday when the young woman was swept out in a rip and along the beach.
Her boyfriend got into trouble when he went to her rescue, but made it back to shore where he collapsed.
A spokesman for the Tolaga Bay first response team, Ray Dever, said the woman's father launched a small inflatable boat and negotiated heavy surf to save her.
The woman's boyfriend was stabilised at the beach by a paramedic flown to the scene in the ECT rescue helicopter from Gisborne. He was treated at the city's hospital and later discharged.
Mr Dever said the couple were very lucky not to have drowned.
