A child who went missing in the sea at a Raglan surf beach has died.
Police said they were alerted just after 3.30pm today that a child was missing at Ocean Beach, near the Raglan rivermouth.
The Coastguard and the rescue helicopter, as well as local surf lifeguards, were involved in the search.
The missing child was spotted by the helicopter in the harbour at about 5pm and brought to shore by the Coastguard.
Emergency services tried to resuscitate the child, but were unsuccessful.
Water Safety New Zealand said there were 68 preventable drowning deaths in 2018, down from 92 in 2017.
However, the number of drownings at beaches was up slightly, from 16 to 18.
