Woman dies after suffering critical injuries in Auckland boating incident

A woman has died after suffering critical injuries in a boating incident on Auckland's Waitematā Harbour.

The boat was a chartered vessel carrying around 30 passengers, which left from the Auckland Viaduct on Thursday afternoon..

A Coastguard NZ spokesman said two people on the boat went overboard. They were quickly retrieved from the water.

A witness who observed the incident from the shore said the vessel involved was a 15m (50ft) white launch and maritime police had spent more than an hour close to the boat.

A Coastguard North Shore vessel was sent to the incident while a second Coastguard vessel towed the charter vessel back into the harbour.

An intensive care paramedic and a doctor were winched from the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter to a police boat before being taken to the charter vessel around 100m away.

A police spokeswoman said police and Maritime NZ were working together to understand the circumstances leading to the woman's injuries.

The spokeswoman said victim support would be put in place for other passengers on the boat.