Blessing held at South Auckland park after body recovered from pond

Reweti led a karakia and offered prayers for the person who died.

A whakawātea ceremony was conducted at Rongomai Park in Flat Bush. Photo / NZ Herald

The blessing was held to lift the sense of “heaviness” and to restore peace following the recovery.

The waiata Wairua Tapu was sung before he concluded the ceremony with a Christian prayer.

Rongomai Park was largely deserted this afternoon, with only a handful of people passing through the area.

Police tape from a cordon remained tied to a nearby tree, marking the spot where emergency services had worked overnight.

Police conducting a body recovery from a pond at Rongomai Park in Flat Bush. Photo / Hayden Woodward

The death remains unexplained and formal identification procedures are underway, police said.

An autopsy was expected to take place today.

Cordons were in place yesterday but the park has since reopened.

The public may see an increased police presence while inquiries continue, a police spokesperson said.

Yesterday, walkway entrances into the park, which is next to Te Irirangi Drive, were temporarily cordoned off while police worked in the area.

Police search and rescue recovered a body from a pond at Rongomai Park on Monday night. Photo / NZ Herald

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said an ambulance also attended.

A Herald photographer at the scene yesterday said police search and rescue staff, wearing personal protective equipment and waders, were preparing to deploy an inflatable boat into the pond within the reserve.

Cordons were established at Rongomai Park in Flat Bush while police carried out a body recovery mission. Photo / Hayden Woodward.

A specialist police photographer was also seen at the reserve, while several police vehicles remained on nearby Belinda Ave.