Three men have been plucked to safety by a helicopter crew in Northland waters after the yacht they were in started taking on water.
The drama unfolded northeast of the Poor Knights Islands on Sunday morning. A beacon was activated at 6.27am and the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington alerted the Northland Rescue Helicopter and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter in Auckland.
A centre spokesperson said the initial alert was received by maritime and Coastguard radios. The yachties did not respond to broadcasts and subsequently activated their Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (Epirb).
The Westpac helicopter’s departure was delayed due to fog in Auckland but was stood down 13 minutes into the flight and flew back to base.
A Northland Rescue Helicopter crew of pilot-in-command Lance Donnelly, co-pilot Johs Van Pierce, winch operator Andrew Ferguson and rescue swimmer Dan Short arrived at the scene about 7.55am.