Runabout missing off Coromandel coast

Police are investigating the disappearance of a 5m runabout off the southern Coromandel coast.

The boat, named The Deceiving, logged its departure with the Coast Guard on leaving Whangamata Harbour at 11.15am yesterday. It has not been seen since.

It was not known how many people were on board, a Whangamata police spokesman said.

The boat's trailer was registered to a Thames address and the people had likely gone fishing.

There was second-hand information that the boat had headed to Mercury Islands, 20km off the Coromandel coast, but that had not been confirmed, the spokesman said.

Hamilton search and rescue was considering putting an aircraft up to search for the boat, he said.

Conditions were relatively calm and overcast, but that could change, he said.

Anyone who knew who the vessel belonged to, or where it or its destination may be, was asked to contact Whangamata police.

- NZPA