A seven-year-old boy who was splashing in shallow water at a beach with his twin brother tragically died after being washed out to sea by a monster 10-foot wave.
Two hero police officers, who were both trained lifeguards, stripped off their clothes and swam out to try and rescue the boy at the beach in Napier, New Zealand, on February 21 last year.
A rescue helicopter airlifted little Te Ao Marama Te Pou, but officers Ryan Gordon and Larissa Cowlrick were unable to save him, a coroner s report handed down on Thursday found.
Two police officers stripped their clothes off before trying to to resuscitate the young boy
Napier boy s drowning: Seven-year-old was playing games with twin in crashing waves
5 May, 2021 11:11 PM
3 minutes to read
Two young police constables, both trained lifesavers, tried to reach Marama Te Pou when he was swept off Marine Parade. Photo / NZME
Two young police constables, both trained lifesavers, tried to reach Marama Te Pou when he was swept off Marine Parade. Photo / NZME
Hawkes Bay Today
By: Christian Fuller
A 7-year-old boy who drowned off the coast of Te Awa, Napier, was playing a game against crashing waves with his twin brother before he was washed away.
Te Ao Marama Te Pou, known as Marama, was playing in the shallows with brother Whetu and a friend when waves swept him away on February 21, 2020.
The beach at Napier shortly after Marama Te Pou was pulled from the sea.
A 7-year-old boy who drowned in the sea off Napier may have been playing a game against crashing waves before they washed him away. Te Ao Marama Te Pou (known as ‘Marama’) was playing in the shallows at the southern end of Marine Parade with his twin brother Whetu and another friend when he was swept away in the afternoon of February 21 last year. In a recently released finding, coroner Peter Ryan said the boys had been playing in the water without any adult supervision. There was “significant amount of surf and a strong undertow” and Marama was swept away, he said.