Police have released dramatic footage of a Waitangi weekend rescue operation of four people left clinging to a pillow when their boat sunk.
The gripping video posted on the police Facebook page begins with a desperate phone call on Saturday evening from a stricken boatie treading water in the Firth of Thames without a lifejacket.
Explaining his boat had sunk off the Kaiaua coast, the man urged the police to send help immediately because they were about to lose the phone.
![The rescue was recorded from the air, with the Eagle helicopter flying to the spot the group were last heard from. Photo / Supplied](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/EVZ672CNGDRZWUYHWCAYORFKJE.jpg?auth=08b9bf121a2f661f6f7ff44d9e1df122bfc5382d722e1eae296153fb0ea99bb3&width=16&height=9&quality=70&smart=true)
"We don't have any lifejackets and we're hanging on to a cushion," yells out one of the group.