A man who was pulled from Tauranga Harbour has been taken to hospital in a serious condition.
A man who was pulled from Tauranga Harbour has been taken to hospital in a serious condition.
A man had been taken to hospital in a serious condition after he ran into Tauranga Harbour, allegedly in an attempt to evade police.
Western Bay of Plenty Police area commander Inspector Clifford Paxton said in a statement police saw a person of interest driving on Devonport Rd around 10.30amand signalled for him to stop.
Once the vehicle had pulled over, he said police arrested a 36-year-old - and allegedly suspended - driver but he was able to flee on foot.
“Police followed the man … and [he] eventually entered the water at Tauranga Harbour, off The Strand.”
Police at Memorial Park pulled a man out of a Coastguard rescue boat at 11.45am.
Paxton said a member of the public provided the man with a life jacket and he stayed afloat until police search-and-rescue and Coastguard Tauranga volunteers helped him out of the water.
He said the man was in custody and charges were being considered, police said.
A Hato Hone St John spokesman said an ambulance and rapid response unit were sent to Fraser St around 10.45am and one person was taken to Tauranga Hospital in a serious condition.
The Coastguard rescue boat returns to shore at Memorial Park.
A Bay of Plenty Times reporter at the scene said police and Coastguard had retrieved a man from the water in Tauranga Harbour near Memorial Park.
