Police and search and rescue teams are still scouring the Manawatū River after a little girl and a woman who tried to save her disappeared yesterday afternoon.
The 11-year-old girl got into trouble swimming and a 25-year-old woman went in after her, but both failed to resurface.
The crews spent yesterday evening looking for any sign of the missing pair in the murky, swollen waters of the river as their families watched from the shore.
"It is really, really sad. They cannot believe this is real," family spokesperson Eh Doh Soe told Newshub.
The missing woman had a one-year-old baby, he said.
Police were called to the river near Ahimate Reserve in Palmerston North at around 3:15pm yesterday.
The missing pair aren't related, but close friends and members of New Zealand's Karen community. They arrived here as refugees after violence tore through their home country of Myanmar.
Community members have come from across the country to provide support. They are still holding out hope but as the hours pass rescuers are less optimistic.
Inspector Ashley Gurney of police told Newshub they feared the worst.
"With the type of search we've got underway, we expect it to be a recovery as opposed to finding," he said.
Today the dive squad arrived to look for bodies and a rāhui has been placed on the river.
Police also revealed they'd found the body of a diver who went missing off the coast of Te Araroa on the East Cape.
Water Safety New Zealand's boss Daniel Gerrard is shocked at this year's drowning stats, describing them as "horrendous".
"Just dreadful. It's looking like it's going to be one of our worst years in a number of years," he told Newshub.
Gerrard says at least 17 people have died in water related incidents this month alone; almost double last year's numbers.
With summer only one third of the way through, he's hoping people are better prepared and learn the risks when going swimming.
"It's a holiday time, we should be out enjoying the fantastic environment we've got but we've got to make sure we come home," he says.
