The boy who died after falling from a cliff near Hāhei Beach in Coromandel was 13 years old.
The tragedy occurred on Saturday evening at Hāhei, a popular holiday destination near Whitianga.
The child’s age and gender were confirmed by the Chief Coroner’s office.
Emergency services were called to the northern end of the beach just after 8pm, after reports a child had been critically injured in a fall.
The 13-year-old died at the scene.
Another young person trapped on the cliff was brought to safety by a specialist Fire and Emergency New Zealand line rescue team.
The Waikato Herald is reporting the child rescued from the cliff was a girl.
Both were staying with family at a nearby campground, and were part of a larger group spending time at the beach prior to the fall, the Waikato Herald reported.
Meanwhile, police confirmed the children were not on a Doc track nor a council track at the time.
Earlier, police said two people aged under-18 fell from a cliff on Saturday evening; one died at the scene, the other was rescued uninjured.
Police said the victim’s name would be released in due course, but would not say how old he or she was, except that the person was under 18.
It is a break with the usual protocol of providing the age of accident victims and police have been asked why the person’s age was not being released in this case.
A spokesperson for Auckland’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter said a crew was dispatched to Hāhei at 8.06pm to assist a patient with critical injuries at the bottom of a cliff.
However, transportation to hospital was not required and the helicopter returned to base.
Thames-Coromandel mayor Len Salt said there would be an investigation into the death.
“Our hearts go out to the families and the loved ones of the young person who lost their life … it’s heartbreaking to happen at any time of the year, certainly at this time.”
Further details about exactly what happened would come from the police or St John, he said.
“We understand it was the north end of Hāhei in a cliff area, I’m still waiting for a full briefing.”
On Sunday, the Department of Conservation said the incident was not on a Doc track. Police later confirmed the death was not on a council track either.
“That area there has a mix of Doc land, there’s some council responsibility for some of the beachfront area and there’s a lot of private land which is above those tracks as well and there’s a number of walking tracks and beach access areas as well down there,” Salt said.
“It’s a tricky area, we always encourage people to stay to the tracks to make sure that, especially after dark, that they take extra care.”
Asked whether there was appropriate signage in the area, Salt said the council went “to extraordinary lengths” to put up appropriate signs and give guidance to people in tracks and access areas which could be dangerous or may have difficult access, but in this case the details were not available.
The local community was very upset after the incident after the death, he said.
“It’s never easy for communities to manage but in this case where you’ve got a young person who’s lost a life in a holiday community, an area where people go to enjoy their summer, it has an effect, there’s no doubt about it.”
Hāhei is a popular destination for domestic holidaymakers as well as international visitors keen to see the nearby Cathedral Cove, which is accessed via a recently reopened walking track.
