A Coastguard vessel (file image). Photo: Supplied / Coastguard
A close friend of the man who died in a boating accident on Sunday said his relatives were in shock.
A boat with seven people on board capsized on Auckland's Manukau Bar.
Sudesh Kumar said the man who died was 52-year-old Māngere East resident Parama Siwam Sami, know as Bimal.
Kumar said Sami came to New Zealand from Lautoka Fiji 20 years ago, and leaves behind a wife and four children in their 20s (three daughters and one son).
He said the tight-knit family was grieving the loss of a kind, good-hearted man.
"Bimal is one of my close brothers. He's also my wife's sister's husband. We don't know what to say to each other. The family is in mourning. We're depressed, upset, and shocked."
He said Sami was passionate about fishing.
"When he came back from a fishing trip he would always give fish to his friends."
He said Sami was well-respected in New Zealand's Muslim and Indian communities.
"He was always helping people. He was a good tradesman. Whenever he'd go do a job, he would find a friend, he was just that kind of person. He connected with people."
He said the family recently went to Fiji to celebrate Sami's 50th birthday.
"He was looking forward to a new chapter. He has departed so early from our family."
Earlier on Monday, one of Sami's friends said he was a "really bubbly guy" and an "awesome dude".
"Loved his fishing, he was obsessed with fishing, loved to have a wine," Russell 'Rusty' Ensor of Striker Charters in Tauranga.
"He was always a character to have on the boat."
Sami's friend Mohammed Ali-Bobby said he warned him against crossing the bar the day before the accident happened.
"The snapper season just started, so he thought to go over the bar - but we hardly go [over] Manukau Bar, we always go towards generally Hauraki Gulf. I just sent him a video about the bar crossing, how it was so bad.
"He didn't mention to me, I always tell him don't 'go over the bar, don't go over the bar'. So sad, man."
Auckland Maritime Unit's Sergeant Craig Kennedy told Morning Report it was not clear how Sami died, as the water was calm, the group was wearing lifejackets and were pulled from the water just five to 10 minutes after the boat capsized.
"There are lots of accidents around bar crossings, and if not for the other boats nearby, we could have had multiple drownings."
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