The widow of one the two men who died at Piha beach on Saturday lost both her parents and brother to Covid-19, a friend says.
Saurin Nayankumar Patel and Anshul Shah, who both came from Ahmedabad in India, drowned at the rough Auckland west coast beach.
Friend Hiren Patel told NZME Shah's wife, who was at Piha when the tragedy occurred, had lost her parents and brother to Covid.
Two men lost their lives at the rough Auckland west coast beach, despite the best efforts of rescue crews. (Source: 1News)
“We are all there (for) her, but everything you say is just hard to believe, you know, you say ‘calm down and look forward to the future’, but how can she when the only person who cared for her is gone.”
Hiren said he was "totally devastated" by the loss of his friends, who had both arrived in New Zealand last year.
A third, Apurv Modi, was in the water at the same time when a "rogue wave" pulled the trio apart.
“It is with God’s grace that Apurv Modi survived. He managed to come to shore but he lost his friends,” Hiren said.
The men were unable to swim and had entered the water in a dangerous spot.
"Because it was a hole, there was no waves so it looks like a safe, calm spot, but it’s nothing of the sort," lifeguard Abby Ferguson said.
She spoke of the anguish events had taken on everyone involved.
"It was the family for me, that’s kind of what kept me up last night, the family’s reaction, that it was just so fast, everything can change in an instant, it was tough."
Rob Ferguson, one of the first on the scene, said it was a "horrible" situation.
"Even guards who have been around for a while, this may have been their first resuscitation, it's really tough, and I didn't sleep very well last night."
Six people have drowned in Auckland since Friday.
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