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• Abhishek Arora has been identified as the swimmer who went missing after getting caught in a rip while at Piha Beach in Auckland with his partner on Tuesday. 
• A body found washed ashore on Bethells Beach, north of Piha, last night was believed to be the missing swimmer, police said. 
• The 25-year-old Auckland dreamed of buying a home with his partner, and family are travelling to New Zealand from India to bring him home. 

The partner of a man who disappeared while swimming at Piha Beach on Tuesday was at his side moments before a rip dragged him out to sea, a family friend of the young woman says. 

Abhishek Arora is believed to have drowned while swimming at the West Auckland beach, with police telling his devastated family a body found washed ashore last night at Bethells Beach, north of Piha, was believed to be the missing 25-year-old. 

His partner of about a year, initially mistakenly identified as his fiancee, was “doing okay” and focusing on helping Arora’s family and police, family friend Jessica Jason said. 

Although originally from Sri Lanka, all the woman’s family lived in New Zealand, so she had good support. 

“She’s trying to keep herself busy so that she doesn’t go into complete lockdown mode, but since they only found the boy yesterday night, you know how it is, right? 

“Till they found him she still had a hope that, by some miracle, he might end up alive somewhere.” 

Abhishek Arora went missing after being caught in a rip at Piha on Tuesday. A body found on Bethells Beach yesterday is believed to be the 25-year-old. 

The couple were at Piha about 4pm on Tuesday when he was one of seven swimmers caught in a rip. 

Surf lifesavers were able to rescue all but Arora. 

“She’d just come out of the water and he was supposed to come with her, but he said, ‘Okay, let me just play for five more minutes’, and that five more minutes turned out to be his last.” 

• ‘Tragic’: Missing Piha swimmer was to be married next month; body found on nearby beach

The couple had revealed their relationship to their respective parents and others last month, Jason said. 

“We are thinking that it’s getting pretty serious at this stage ... they had big dreams and big plans together. 

“That’s what breaks our heart when we heard the news because they had plans of buying a house and all that stuff. Their dreams were big.” 

The woman’s parents are also devastated as they loved Arora, who Jason described as a “sweet, kind and very respectful boy”, and who was a devoted son to his own parents, whom he spoke to every day. 

“He was very, very attached to his mother.” 

Arora came to New Zealand almost eight years ago to study hospitality before working as a supervisor in a hotel. He recently changed jobs and Jason wasn’t sure what his most recent role was. 

The eldest of three sons – the youngest of whom died of an illness four years ago – Arora financially supported his parents, who live in Ambala, 200km north of New Delhi in India, Jason said. 

“He’s the only breadwinner in the family.” 

The middle son had joined Arora in New Zealand to study, and had taken on the heartbreaking task of telling their parents they had lost a second child – news he initially kept from them for days. 

Jason and her husband Jason Selvaraj were with the devastated young man as he answered his brother’s phone when their mother made her daily 8pm call on Tuesday, unaware her eldest son was missing. 

“He [told her] his brother went to night shift. He was just lying in front of us, and he was crying [because] he doesn’t know how to tell his parents. He had no words to tell.” 

On Wednesday, the man flew to India to tell his parents in person, although friends in New Zealand encouraged him to remain in Auckland for a couple of days while the search for Arora continued, Selvaraj said. 

“He said, ‘Somehow I managed this evening, and when they call me tomorrow I don’t have the guts to lie. And I can’t disclose this news over the phone, so I have to go‘.” 

Arora’s brother was now trying to get back to New Zealand to formally identify his brother and return his remains to India, Jason said. 

She wasn’t sure if the brothers’ parents were on their way to New Zealand, a country they’d planned to visit for the first time in April. 

Aucklander Arjun Bhardwaj, who didn’t know Arora or his family but comes from the same town, said he’d been asked by a mutual friend to help the family with the logistical challenge of getting Arora home. 

“His family is devastated and desperately [arranging] travel to New Zealand to see their son one last time, and handle his cremation. 

“They are facing significant financial hardship in doing so.” 

The missing swimmer and six others were swimming between the flags when they got into trouble at Piha Beach in West Auckland on Tuesday. File photo / Michael Craig 

Bhardwaj said he’s set up a to ease the financial burden on the family. 

“This is a heartbreaking situation.” 

Arora and the six others swept out to sea by the rip were in the water between the flags, a Surf Life Saving New Zealand spokesperson said on Wednesday. 

“The swimmers were in the flagged area which meant surf lifeguards were watching and were able to rescue six out of the seven swimmers.” 

They understood Arora didn’t know how to swim, the spokesperson said. 

Conditions at the time of the tragedy were rough, with a choppy 2.5m swell, gusting wind and low tide. 

Four of the seven were saved by lifeguards using a rescue board, and another two with an IRB, but Arora couldn’t be found. 

Tips to stay safe in the water 

• Swim between the flags and within your own limits
• Ask lifeguards for advice
• If in doubt, stay out
• Wear a lifejacket if rock fishing
• Remember the 3Rs if you get in trouble – relax and float, raise your hand, and ride the rip until help arrives or you can safely swim back to shore
• Click on to check when beaches are patrolled, and for updated surf and current conditions, and water quality

Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.