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National | Drowning

Police urge people to take care in the water over holiday period

Police are urging people to take extra care while in the water over the holiday period.

This follows the drowning of a 50 year old man while diving at a Puatai beach near Tolaga Bay on the East Cape.

Friends and family were with the man when he allegedly got into difficulty while free diving and alerted emergency services.

While the group with him were able to get him to shore he passed away by the time the Gisborne rescue helicopter arrived at the scene.

The man is believed to be local and police say his name will not be released until the entire family has been notified.

The victim of another tragic drowning which occurred in Whanganui at Castlecliff Bay on Christmas day was named by police today as Jordon James Marshall who was just 17 years old.

In another tragic turn a three-year-old boy drowned in a lagoon at Ocean Beach near Waimarama, while another man is believed to have drowned at Mt Maunganui.

Police have called for people to be extra vigilant and take care of every member of their group while in the water