Pregnant fiancee watches helplessly as partner dies at Ruakaka Beach
A pregnant woman watched helplessly as rescuers tried to save her fiance after he was pulled from a Northland beach.
Hong Nghe, 38, got in trouble in relatively calm water at Ruakaka Beach about 100 metres offshore at 6pm on Monday.
His fiancee, pregnant with their first child, watched as rescuers attempted to resuscitate Mr Nghe but were unable to.
The couple are New Zealand residents of Cambodian and Chinese decent, living in Auckland. Mr Nghe worked in the banking industry and had been in a family group on a day trip to the beach where they were crabbing.
He is the fourth male of Asian descent to have died on that stretch of beach while crabbing since 2011 and is Northland's first drowning of the year.
