KEY POINTS:
A stingray attack off the North Island's east coast has left a man with a serious stomach wound.
Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter spokesman Dean Herrick said the man, in his 40s, was diving in Hawkes Bay this morning when he disturbed a couple of stingrays.
He was not far from the shore at Porongahu, about 40km south of Waimarama, Mr Herrick said.
The stingray's barb punctured the man's stomach just below the belly button.
His diving companions brought him to shore and drove him to meet the rescue helicopter.
The friends had seen the stingray but details around exactly what happened were still unclear.
Mr Herrick was not sure if the diver was wearing a wetsuit when it happened, but said the man had suffered a reasonably serious injury.
"He was in a lot of pain," he said.
The man was airlifted to Hawke's Bay Hospital in a stable condition.
- NZPA
