- Two teenagers saved a drowning man at Beach Haven Wharf in Auckland.
- Luca Makoare and Memphis Mauafu-Reti swam against a strong current to rescue him.
- The man was taken to North Shore Hospital in a moderate condition.
Two schoolboys are being celebrated as heroes after saving a drowning man off an Auckland wharf.
Luca Makoare, 16, and Memphis Mauafu-Reti, 15, were at Beach Haven Wharf on Sunday when they saw a man struggling in the current.
Makoare told the Herald they heard people screaming as they were coming down the driveway.
“We saw a guy out in the current struggling to swim, and our first thought was we need to go out there and help him,” he said.
“We’ve got to go in now [or] it might be too late.
“I ran to the end of the wharf, dropped my stuff and jumped straight off.”
Makoare reached the man roughly 20m from the wharf and made sure he was calm.
“I was trying to swim to the wharf, but the current was too strong. So I told him to hop on his back and float for a bit,” he said.
Mauafu-Reti then jumped in and the pair swam towards the Beach Haven Ferry terminal, each with an arm under the man’s shoulders.
Luca Makoare, 16, is being celebrated as a hero after he and his friend saved a drowning man off Beach Haven Wharf. Photo / supplied
“We tried to go to the wharf but the current was too strong, but luckily we got there just in time because we were at the edge of the terminal,” he said.
“We just told him to hold on. Luckily a boat came around the corner, took him off the ferry terminal and back to the wharf.”
After the rescue, the pair were questioned by police and then carried on swimming.
Makoare’s uncle Jaq Nohi posted on Facebook the next day how proud he was of the pair for “jeopardising their own lives without hesitation or even a second thought to help someone in need”.
“Anyone [who] knows Beach Haven Wharf and the current that flows through there knows it’s hard to get back once you’re caught,” he said.
“To have the strength to swim out and back with this adult who was struggling was absolutely courageous.”
Hato Hone St John said it was notified of a water incident in Beach Haven at 6.57pm on Sunday, and one ambulance and one rapid response unit attended.
“One patient in a moderate condition was transported to North Shore Hospital.”
Makoare’s mother Laurene told the Herald how proud she was of her son.
“They just got dropped off, were walking down the hill and saw this guy and all these people standing here,” she said.
“So they just jumped in, no hesitation or anything.”
Laurene said Makoare was always a child who would help people.
“He will back you up and do it with you.”
Birkenhead College, the boys’ school, said: “Miharo! Top effort Luca and Memphis.”
David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.
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