Man pulled from Tauranga Harbour taken to hospital in serious condition

A man who was pulled from Tauranga Harbour has been taken to hospital in a serious condition.

A man had been taken to hospital in a serious condition after he ran into Tauranga Harbour, allegedly in an attempt to evade police.

Western Bay of Plenty Police area commander Inspector Clifford Paxton said in a statement police saw a person of interest driving on Devonport Rd around 10.30am and signalled for him to stop.

Once the vehicle had pulled over, he said police arrested a 36-year-old - and allegedly suspended - driver but he was able to flee on foot.

“Police followed the man … and [he] eventually entered the water at Tauranga Harbour, off The Strand.”

Police at Memorial Park pulled a man out of a Coastguard rescue boat at 11.45am.

Paxton said a member of the public provided the man with a life jacket and he stayed afloat until police search-and-rescue and Coastguard Tauranga volunteers helped him out of the water.

He said the man was in custody and charges were being considered, police said.

A Hato Hone St John spokesman said an ambulance and rapid response unit were sent to Fraser St around 10.45am and one person was taken to Tauranga Hospital in a serious condition.

The Coastguard rescue boat returns to shore at Memorial Park.

A Bay of Plenty Times reporter at the scene said police and Coastguard had retrieved a man from the water in Tauranga Harbour near Memorial Park.

The man could be heard moaning as the boat approached the shoreline.

At 11.45am, two police officers pulled the man from the boat and took him to a waiting ambulance.

A witness said the Coastguard and a kayak had been helping the man in the harbour for 40 minutes.