Three fishermen were pulled alive from the water off the Gisborne coast after spending several hours clinging to improvised flotation following the sudden capsize of their vessel. The rescue drew on assets from multiple agencies before the men were finally located and recovered.
Police alerted Coastguard at 11.18am, reporting a capsized vessel and requesting Coastguard Gisborne respond. A rescue boat was underway shortly afterwards, crewed by three volunteers.
The fishermen had set out earlier that morning in calm conditions aboard a 24ft aluminium boat. During the trip, the vessel became entangled in a craypot line and went over rapidly, giving the crew no time to retrieve any safety gear before they found themselves in the water.
A broad search effort was organised, with Police and the Rescue Coordination Centre bringing together an RNZAF P-8 Poseidon aircraft, the Eastland Rescue helicopter, and the Surf Life Saving Gisborne search and rescue squad. The search covered a wide area over the hours that followed.
At 2.40pm, the P-8 aircraft spotted three people in the water. Coastguard Gisborne volunteers were directed to the location, recovered all three men, and brought them back to shore, where ambulance staff were on hand to assess and treat the survivors.
The men had been in the water for an extended period. Cold and exhausted, they were showing early signs of hypothermia, having relied on a single lifejacket together with a bucket and a petrol can to keep themselves afloat.
Costguard Gisborne skipper Aaron Boyle said the outcome could easily have been different. "The boat went over without warning. They didn't have time to grab anything," he said.
Boyle said the incident was a stark reminder of how fast a routine outing can become life-threatening, and pointed to lifejacket use as fundamental to survival in exactly these circumstances. "Even when conditions look settled, things can change fast," he said. "Wearing a lifejacket gives you a chance when everything else goes wrong."
