Sonny Fai missing and presumed dead
January 5th 2009 01:11
2009 for Rugby League could not have recieved a worse news headline then the one currently plaguing the NRL world at the moment.
The young man believed drowned at west Auckland's Bethell's Beach last night is young New Zealand Warriors star Sonny Fai.
Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah confirmed the 20-year-old is missing after he had been at Bethell's on a training run yesterday.
Sources told Newstalk ZB Fai went into the water to help a family member who had got into difficulty swimming.
He was one of four men believed to have been caught by strong currents after entering the water.
The alarm was raised about 8pm last night, and two inflatable boats and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter were scrambled. Three men were rescued.
Family members and surf life savers kept searching for the sportsman until 1am.
Relatives gathered on the beach as the Eagle helicopter resumed its search this morning and Fai's team mates were also heading to Bethell's.
Fai has long been touted as the Warriors' next superstar after joining the club as a 14-year-old in 2003.
He made his debut against Parramatta last year and played a total of 15 games, scoring five tries in the process.
former Junior Kiwi featured mainly in the centres but was regarded as a long-term back-row option after the Warriors fought off interest from rival NRL clubs to sign him until the end of 2010.
Fai also played for the New Zealand Residents in 2005-06 and made the Kiwis train-on squad for last year's World Cup but missed out on final selection.
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