Green MP Efeso Collins has died after collapsing while participating in the ChildFund Water Run charity event in central Auckland. Collins was taking part in the event to raise funds to support local communities in the Pacific at 9 am in Auckland’s Britomart when he collapsed.
Emergency services immediately responded with CPR and defibrillators to treat the MP and continued working for him for an hour. A St John spokesperson said response teams were on the scene with one ambulance and one rapid response vehicle. One ambulance and four staff have been performing CPR on him “for at least 15 minutes,” according to a news article by The New Zealand Herald. An eyewitness, as reported in the article, said the incident happened a few minutes after the race winner was announced.
The outdoor event was attended by a number of high-profile Aucklanders, including Dave Letele, The Hits host Matty McLean, and Seven Sharp anchor Hilary Barry. As the emergency services arrived, many of the participants and event staff became emotional.
Collins was taking part in a water run race in Te Komititanga Square outside Commercial Bay to raise awareness and money for clean drinking water for children in the Pacific. Contestants raced each other around a course carrying two filled buckets of water, with the person with the most water deemed the champion.
He was elected to Parliament as a Green Party MP at the 2023 election.
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