A 68-year-old man is dead after he was thrown from his dinghy following a collision with a yacht in Northland today.
The collision occurred as the yacht was coming into Opua at 8.30am, police said.
Crew members from the 13m tall ship R.Tucker Thompson, who witnessed the incident, pulled the man from the water and began CPR until a defibrillator and then ambulance crew arrived.
The attempts at resuscitation were not successful, police said.
Police at the scene were interviewing witnesses and the crew of the yacht with Maritime New Zealand.
The man's dinghy was yet to be recovered.
Police said the man was believed to be a local, however further details would not be released until formal identification procedures had been completed and next of kin notified.