Three men have been winched to safety by a rescue helicopter after abandoning their sinking fishing boat for a life raft in rough seas off the south Taranaki coast today.
A mayday call was sent just after 4am from the 17m fishing boat about 14km off Patea, Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) said.
Communication with the boat's occupants was lost shortly afterwards, and a distress beacon, which was briefly activated, also stopped signalling.
The Taranaki rescue helicopter arrived at the boat's last location just before 6am, sighting the life raft 15 minutes later.
The crew was winched to safety and transported back to Taranaki Base Hospital for medical assessment before being discharged.
NZN