Drowning man hauled out of sea by his hair

The man, suffering exhaustion and hypothermia, was flown to Middlemore Hospital in a Westpac helicopter. Photo / Supplied

A man is lucky to be alive after he got tangled up in a fishing net and almost drowned off Port Waikato yesterday - being saved only when passing boaties pulled him from the water by his hair.

The rescuers saw the man, aged in his 30s, disappear beneath the waves.

Only his hands were visible to show where he was, Westpac rescue helicopter crewman Mark Cannell said.

The man was thought to be with a group who put the net out but it was not clear whether he swam from the shore to look for the net or was going for a swim when he got tangled in it.

"He spent a fair whack of time in the water trying to fight against it and was getting quite puffed," Mr Cannell said.

"Luckily, the alarm was raised and a passing boat ... they saw his hands come out of the water as he was going under and they raced along and grabbed him by the hair and pulled him out."

Mr Cannell said the man was very lucky. "If it wasn't for the passing boat and the people willing to assist, we would have been looking for a body, I suspect."

The man, suffering exhaustion and hypothermia, was flown to Middlemore Hospital in the Westpac helicopter, initially in a serious condition. Last night, his condition had stablised.

Rescuer Harley Baker pulled the man to safety after being alerted by about 20 of the man's friends yelling on the shore.

A local fisherman and fire brigade member, Michael Macedonski, told the Herald: "A matter of seconds and it would have been all over."

Mr Macedonski said the man wasn't tangled in the net by the time he was rescued.