Source: Radio New Zealand
FlightRadar24
Three people have been found alive after their boat sunk near Waitangi overnight.
Coastguard said it appeared the vessel sank at about 3am Friday in Wairoa Bay.
One person was able to get to shore to raise the alarm.
The other two had since been found with minor injuries after the Coastguard began a search at about 7am.
Hato Hone St John confirmed it sent an ambulance and air rescue helicopter to the scene near Waitangi Mountain Bike Park after it was notified at about 6.50am.
Crews assessed all three patients at the scene, it said.
One was in a moderate condition, with two others in a minor condition.
More investigations were underway to find out the details of what happened.
A local earlier on Sunday told RNZ search and rescue crews were combing the coastline near the Brampton reef.
The resident said they had seen a helicopter in the air and the Coastguard boat out on the water.
The search area in the Bay of Islands. Flight Radar screenshot
The rescue comes less than two weeks after a large scale search and rescue exercise in the same area.
The exercise involved the premise that a cruise ship carrying 50 people had struck the reef and five people were dead.
The exercise involed search and rescue volunteers, Coastguard, Surf Life Saving New Zealand, the Red Cross and the Rescue Coordination Centre.
The area where rescue crews are setting up their search operation. Google Maps
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
