Police have recovered the body of a teenage boy from Hunua Falls, south of Auckland.

The 13-year-old is believed to have drowned after he got into trouble swimming at the popular waterfall with extended family yesterday afternoon.

Another family member tried to save the boy, but couldn't rescue him.

Members of the police dive squad recovered the body just after 10:30pm.

Auckland Council says it would prefer people did not swim at the Falls, but closing the dangerous swimming hole to the public isn't feasible.

It could be the second drowning in just over a week at Hunua, and Council spokesman Mace Ward says people need to be careful.

"It is slippery and it drops of very quickly, so we'd rather people didn't swim at all in the Falls," he says.

"Not to say they shouldn't have an enjoyable day, but we would recommend not swimming in the Falls themselves, given the risks."

Ten days ago, a17-year-old man drowned at the falls and there was also a near-drowning at the same spot in February.

Newshub.