Phuong Van Dang had driven to the beach for a day trip with his wife when they noticed the significant recovery response.
Shortly after, he said three local fishermen told the couple they had watched the incident unfold.
“He was just on the edge of the rocks, just pulling in his line, and this freak wave came along and washed him off,” Dang said, relaying what he was told.
“He didn’t know how to swim, didn’t have a life jacket on.”
The fishermen attempted to rescue the man by throwing him a flotation device but were unable to bring him back to shore.
Dang said the would-be rescuers appeared to be deeply affected by the tragedy.
“After what happened, they just lost their appetite for fishing,” he said.
“They just watched him drown right in front of their eyes.”
The victim’s body was recovered from the water at Ōtakamiro Point this afternoon. Photo / Google
Dang said the conditions on the coast were rough today, with “very big swells, and very dirty, muddy water”.
Having been swept off the rocks himself at another New Zealand beach, he believes stronger signage is needed to warn of the potentially fatal danger.
The death is the latest tragedy on Auckland’s west coast, where authorities have repeatedly warned of the dangers posed by unpredictable seas and powerful swells.
In 2018, a man and woman were swept off the rocks at Muriwai Beach.
Muriwai’s fire brigade chief at the time, Phelan Pirrie, told the Herald visitors “keep underestimating how dangerous it is out there”.
“There’s been signs about wearing life jackets … if you’re on the rocks, being careful and treating it as being extremely dangerous.
“I don’t know, the message doesn’t seem to get through, unfortunately. It’s really tragic.”