A coroner has found that two brothers from Gisborne drowned after the older tried to save the younger from a rip at a local beach.
The brothers drowned off Makorori beach. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Paul Wakelin, who was 23, and John Wakelin, who was 19, died off Makorori Beach where they'd gone fishing in January 2015.
John and a friend were seen standing waist deep, then were quickly washed 75 metres from shore.
"Paul has run out to try and save us but it was too late," the friend, who cannot be identified, said at the time.
"And Paul has got himself into the rip as well."
A nearby surfer initially thought the yells were from swimmers fooling around and bodysurfing.
But it became more intense and distressed, and he paddled over.
However, the two brothers were by that point facedown and unresponsive.
The surfer pulled Paul Wakelin partially on to his board and set out for shore, but a wave knocked him off.
"The male sunk and disappeared," the surfer told the inquest.
"The water was churned up and sandy so I frantically paddled around trying to find him. I didn't see the male again."
Other surfers got the friend back to shore safely.
Coroner Carla na Nagara said people caught in rips should follow surf lifesaving advice to lie on their backs while signalling for help and not try to fight against the current.
"Tragically, it appears the brothers [and friend] may not have known what to do in a rip," she said in the finding released today.
