One dead, seven injured at Chch beach

A death at a beach north of Christchurch is unrelated to a local surf club event, police say.

• First published on RNZ

The person died and seven people were injured in a water incident this afternoon.

Police say they were called to Spencer Beach, east of Kaiapoi, at about 12.45pm.

While they were not providing many details on what happened, they confirmed one person died and the death had no connection to an IRB or inflatable rescue boats event being run by Spencer Park Surf Life Saving Club at the same time.

Police say the seven other people who received minor injuries got them while trying to rescue the deceased person.

St John said four ambulances responded to the incident.

Seven people who suffered minor injuries were assessed and treated at the scene.