Members of the lower North Island's Riversdale community have come together in an outpouring of support for a teenager left paralysed after hitting a sand bank while swimming during the summer holidays.

A member of the police's media team told a documentary crew from Dunedin-founded NHNZ about the incident that led to Tom Phillips death at least an hour before family were notified.

Carrying Bluffy with one hand, Katie Evans clambered over fallen trees and navigated a swing bridge over the Hurunui River to reach the nearest hut.