The teacher leading the fatal trip into Whangārei's Abbey Caves has been labelled a hero.
The student, from Whangārei Boys' High School, died following the school caving trip on Tuesday. His body was recovered late on Tuesday evening.
While many in the school community have questioned why the trip went ahead despite weather warnings, the first person to raise the alarm has described the teacher with the group as a hero.
"I was the person who phoned 111 yesterday in this tragedy. I'm still pretty cut up about it - it's pretty tragic losing a young man like that. He had a lot left to give. I'm really sorry we couldn't help or do more," said witness Caleb Salisbury.
At least 15 year 11 students from Whangārei Boys' High School entered the caves on Tuesday morning.
Salisbury was paving concrete next door when the heavens opened and the rain rushed in.
"Three or four young guys came running asking for help. The police were here in under 15 minutes," he told Newshub.
The conditions in the caves were perilous.
"They say the water came up in under a minute to neck-deep."
He had special praise for one of the boys who came and got him and ran with him to the caves.
"He was really brave. He'll know who he is. Well done mate, you did really well. Sorry about your friend."
Local iwi were there on Tuesday night when the victim's body was found.
"It was very still and while it was a heavy wairua and we all shed tears, there was a sense of peace as well. [He was] in the arms of his loved ones," said Huhana Lyndon, spokeswoman for Ngāti Kahu o Torongare.
Those who live closest to the caves said it's hard to stomach.
"Awful. We're all saddened and the comment is it shouldn't have happened - a young boy! Any tragedy like that is sad," one local said.
Just 10 minutes away, Whangārei Boys' High School was open on Wednesday and emotions were running high.
Parents dropping off children at school were fighting back tears.
While there is heartache, there is a growing sense of fierce frustration the kids were there in the first place, with people in Whangārei feeling bitterly disappointed.
"When you send your kid to school you expect them to come back," one woman told Newshub.
"When I was dropping my daughter off, the mood was sombre. It's not on the council or the parents, it's on the school," another person said.
"It's tragic. I really feel for their families," said another.
While there are still questions about why the students were in the caves in the first place, Salisbury said the teacher in there with them was a hero who put his life on the line.
"That man was pinned against the rocks pulling the boys out from beneath the ledge," he said.
"That man was devastated. He collapsed when he realised there was one missing. He was absolutely mortified.
"That teacher's a hero. He saved a whole bunch of lives. There would be a whole bunch more dead kids in there. He did his absolute best. He was underwater as long as he could handle it."
Salisbury is urging people not to judge the teacher with the boys too quickly.
A number of investigations have now begun into what happened at Abbey Caves.
A Givealittle page has been set up to help support the boy's whānau.
