KEY POINTS:
Three men rescued from their capsized boat on Lake Taupo owe their lives to a passerby who heard their cries for help.
Senior Constable Barry Shepherd, of Taupo, said a Kinloch man out walking at 10am today heard the Palmerston North trio's cries.
The three men, aged 23, 26 and 34, were fishing in their three metre aluminium dinghy in Whangamata Bay on Lake Taupo when they capsized at the end of their fishing excursion just as they were about to return to Kinloch.
"Two of them clung to the dinghy while the other paddled his way towards shore using the fuel tank for buoyancy," Mr Shepherd said.
The Kinloch man heard their cries and rang police. A marine search and rescue response was started.
Another local man was in his boat in Whakaipo Bay when he heard the "all stations" call on the marine radio, so he went to Whangamata Bay and found two men clinging to the boat and the third hanging onto the fuel tank.
The harbourmaster's vessel and Lake Taupo Volunteer Coastguard also responded.
All three men were taken to Kinloch where they were met by paramedics then taken to Taupo Hospital for treatment for hypothermia.
Mr Shepherd said the men were wearing warm clothes but none were wearing life jackets when the boat capsized.
They were staying at Kinloch for a few days and had gone out fishing earlier this morning.
They discarded the outboard motor off the boat fearing it would drag the boat under and had also lost all their fishing tackle and fish. Mr Shepherd said they had been in the water for an hour when found.
- NZPA
