A Manukau Harbour resident who helped two people recover after last night's boat capsize in the area says it is a "traumatic" situation.
Police were called to the scene near Clarks Beach at around 7pm. One person was found dead while another remains missing.
Fears are held for a 10-year-old boy who remains missing.
Sandspit Road School confirmed one of those involved in the tragedy was a student. It was waiting for news.
A nearby resident, Rachael Speedy, told 1News she saw "two people coming out of the water, very distressed".
"It was a very traumatic situation for us...they were very hypothermic, and very distressed.
"So we brought them inside to look after them, to warm them up and to feed them and also to wait for the paramedics to arrive.
"We've got an amazing community here at Clarks Beach, and everyone was extremely concerned like we all are for the family, and so many people came over here to help look out to sea with their binoculars to help the coastguard and to also help the police," she said.
One person was killed when a boat capsized last night, while another person is still missing. (Source: 1News)
Speedy added that rescue efforts were continuing this morning with boats and jet skis, and said the Manukau Harbour "looks like a very safe environment, but unfortunately, it can be very, very dangerous".
She said the conditions last night weren't particularly bad but she hadn't asked the people who came ashore what had happened.
"We were more interested in their welfare, they were very very cold, they had been in the water for five hours, and they were incredibly distressed so we had to get them back to good health as soon as we could.
Five people were onboard, with one confirmed dead and three others rescued. (Source: 1News)
"They decided to wait for the turn of the tide so they were swimming on an incoming tide, so they'd already been in the water for two hours before they started swimming.
"It was very distressing to see them in such a terrible state."
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