There has been a suspected drowning at Hunua Falls, just over a week after a teenage boy drowned there.
Police have confirmed a 13-year-old boy went missing at 3pm today after getting into difficulty while swimming.
He has not yet been located. The Police Dive Squad arrived late tonight to search the area.
He was in the water approximately 40 metres from the base of the falls. An older sibling and another family member jumped into the water to try to help him, witnesses say.
Two ambulances attended the incident at the swimming spot southeast of Auckland, and have been stood down.
Hunua Falls has been closed to the public, and is under guard tonight.
Police at the Hunua Falls carpark (Nick Estel)
Franklin local board chair Andrew Baker says it's a tragedy, and more needs to be done to prevent deaths at the falls.
Auckland Council Parks and Recreation general manager Mace Ward says it's very dangerous to go into the water at Hunua Falls and the council would prefer people didn't swim there at all.
The council will be speaking to the local iwi, Ngati Paoa o Tamaki, about placing a raahui on the falls (temporary spiritual ban on going into or using the water). The raahui that was in place following last week's drowning had only just been lifted.
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