The death of a surfer at Wellington's Lyall Bay after a collision with another surfer was a "rare occurrence", says the head of the local surf club.
A 33-year-old man died about 3.30pm yesterday while surfing at the Wellington Airport end of the beach.
President of Lyall Bay Surf Club Martin Robinson said he had never heard of anything similar happening in more than 20 years at the club.
At that end of the beach there was a lot of competition for waves and boards would collide relatively often, but hadn't heard of anyone being killed in a collision, he told Radio New Zealand.
The water was not crowded because it was windy and the surf was choppy, he said.
