{"id":199556,"date":"2025-12-24T10:06:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T10:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/199556\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T10:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T10:06:16","slug":"all-black-tupou-vaai-recounts-brothers-drowning-in-water-safety-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/199556\/","title":{"rendered":"All Black Tupou Vaa\u2019i recounts brother\u2019s drowning in water safety appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"

He said they were playing when he and Tevita decided to jump into the water, unaware of the full extent of the danger. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just saw the water and decided to jump in, not realising how dangerous it was, and we didn\u2019t know how to swim at the time, which was pretty scary,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

He said he managed to pull himself out, but his brother could not and drowned at 7 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably just the choices that we made, that it was wrong and it cost my brother\u2019s life,\u201d Vaa\u2019i said. <\/p>\n

In a video interview for Water Safety New Zealand, he said he could remember the desperate moments in the water as he scrambled to safety. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just remember I was in the water in the creek and looking up and seeing light and like all these bubbles. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of like scraping to get to the surface. I managed to pull myself out and just remember crying all the way home,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Vaa\u2019i said he remembered his father sprinting out the door, towards the creek. <\/p>\n

Despite growing up surrounded by water, he said he only learned to swim as an adult, gaining water confidence two years ago. <\/p>\n

Water safety has since become important in his role as a parent. Vaa\u2019i said he has already enrolled his young son in swimming lessons. <\/p>\n

\"TupouTupou Vaa\u2019i lost his older brother Tevita in a drowning incident during the summer of 2004. Photo \/ Photosport <\/p>\n

\u2018Concerning trend\u2019<\/p>\n

Vaa\u2019i acknowledged the importance of improving water safety outcomes for Pasifika communities, which account for about 8% of drowning fatalities nationally, rising to 17% in Auckland. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know what it feels like to lose a loved one; I don\u2019t want that happening to anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Water Safety New Zealand said an average 86 Kiwis die in preventable drownings every year. <\/p>\n

It said 43% of all drownings occur in summer months \u2013 New Zealand\u2019s deadliest drowning season \u2013 as more people head to beaches, rivers, lakes, harbours, campgrounds and holiday hotspots.<\/p>\n

Water Safety New Zealand said this summer has begun with a \u201cconcerning trend\u201d. <\/p>\n

As of today, 70 people have already drowned in New Zealand this year, exceeding the 68 lives lost at the same time in 2024.<\/p>\n

How to stay safe<\/p>\n

Wear a life jacket \u2013 in every craft, in every place. Water Safety New Zealand said you should always wear a life jacket when fishing from rocks. Never dive alone \u2013 so someone is there to respond when the unexpected happens. Keep a close eye on young children near all types of water, including inflatable and temporary pools. Water Safety New Zealand said a designated adult needs to be with every individual child around water. Be aware of known blackspots and local conditions. In Auckland, 39% of drownings occur at recognised high-risk locations, particularly the west coast beaches. Recognise that many drownings happen unexpectedly \u2013 slips, falls and being near water can be fatal, even when entering the water was never intended. Water Safety New Zealand said if you have been drinking alcohol, don\u2019t walk home near water.\u00a0Avoid swimming at beaches when lifeguards are not on patrol. If the flags aren\u2019t up and you\u2019re unfamiliar with the conditions, it advises staying out of the water. Do not swim alone. Always swim between the red and yellow flags\u00a0Water Safety New Zealand advises Kiwis to understand their own abilities, look after one another and respect the conditions. <\/p>\n

Sign up to The Daily H<\/a>, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He said they were playing when he and Tevita decided to jump into the water, unaware of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5263,6375,7022,31468,20438,5972,51029,9944,72919,78,11556,111,43,139,69,85328,6302,54894,14625,48654,48655,376],"class_list":["post-199556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-all","tag-appeal","tag-black","tag-brother","tag-brothers","tag-day","tag-drowned","tag-drowning","tag-heartbreak","tag-in","tag-losing","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-recounts","tag-safety","tag-spoken","tag-summer","tag-tupou","tag-vaai","tag-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}