7/01/2009 7:47:00 AM.

A helicopter was to return to Bethells Beach on Auckland's west coast on Wednesday, but searchers say there is no chance of finding rising Warriors rugby league star Sonny Fai alive.

Fai, 20, disappeared trying to help his brother who had got into trouble in the shorebreak on Sunday night.

A police helicopter was due to fly north and south of Bethells today, but police said it was a body recovery mission and not a rescue mission.

Sergeant John Saunders, from the police maritime unit in Auckland which is co-ordinating the search, said there were strong currents in the area but often missing swimmers and fishermen were brought back to a point close to where they disappeared.

Yesterday, Warriors captain Steve Price struggled with tears as he spoke of the anguish of his missing team mate.

He and members of Fai's family were clinging to the faint hope he would be found alive.

"Everyone's coping as best they can. We're not giving up, and to us it isn't a tragedy yet. We're still hopeful he's going to be found," he said, admitting that he was finding the situation difficult to cope with.

Saunders said after such a long time there was no chance Fai had survived.

However, he said it was important that his body was recovered to give the family some closure.

"But with a lot of the west coast ones we have, sometimes a body is never found."

He said the general drift was to the north but it was a wild part of the coast and a body may take several days to come to the surface.

The area was also well populated with great white sharks, which could also make the recovery of a body unlikely.