Body washes up at packed surf spot near Raglan

Sunday, 10 January 2021

Whale Bay, near Raglan, is where a body was discovered early on Saturday afternoon.

A human body that washed up at a popular surf spot near Raglan on Saturday is not believed to be the result of foul play, police say.

The police were called to the scene at Whale Bay at 12.45pm, after the body was discovered.

Hundreds of surfers were enjoying the waves on Saturday when the body was found (file photo).

Work is under way to establish the person's identity and this process was expected to take some time, police said in a statement.

“Police can confirm that at this stage there are no indications the death is suspicious.”

Caroline Swann has lived at Papanui Point for decades, in that time numerous people have drowned at the point and the adjoining Ruapuke Beach (video first published in 2017).

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It is possible the body is that of a fisherman swept off rocks at Ruapuke's Papanui Point near Raglan in late November.

The police were alerted at 9.30am following a report of a man in difficulty in the water.

He had been fishing at Papanui Point with two friends when the man, in his 30s and from the Phillipines, was swept into the sea, police said.

Bad weather hampered search efforts when police, coastguard, surf lifeguards and the rescue helicopter all pitched in to look for the man.

Papanui Point has a notorious reputation and has claimed at least 19 lives.