A woman has drowned while trying to save her young son at a beach near Mahia in northern Hawke's Bay.
Police say the woman, 47, was trying to help her distressed son, believed to be aged about 10, near the small town of Opoutama just after 1pm on Sunday.
The boy was able to make his way back to shore and two people pulled the mother from the water and performed CPR until emergency services arrived about 1.30pm. Police say she died before paramedics arrived.
Police say the beach is normally safe with no known rips but a big southerly swell had made conditions dangerous.
The name of the woman, who had two sons, has not yet been released.
