A West Coast whitebaiting expert says you must always be on alert in that area

Nine year old Emily Branje of Christchurch was swept away at the Hokitika river mouth while whitebaiting yesterday.

The elderly man she was with was pulled from the water by a member of the public.

Westcoast Whitebaiters Association president Cheryl Riley says conditions are similarly treacherous on all West Coast rivers.

Emily's family say she was spending the school holidays with her extended family, and she was their only child.