Injured Coast Guard volunteers rescued

Five volunteer Coast Guard members who had been woken early to rescue two people on a yacht off the coast of Northland ended up being winched to safety themselves after their boat hit an unknown object in rough seas early yesterday.

All five crew members onboard the 9.5m rigid hull inflatable boat Dive Tutukaka Rescue were injured - two of them seriously with head and facial injuries - when they were flung forward on impact off the coast of Tutukaka, northeast of Whangarei, about 6am.

The pair were flown to Middlemore Hospital yesterday where they remained last night for specialist treatment including surgery, although their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The Coast Guard says it does not know if the boat hit rocks or another object as it rushed through 3m swells to rescue two people on the 6.7m yacht, Indian Summer.

The two yachties had called emergency services fearing for their safety in severe conditions just before 6am.

The yacht was eventually towed to safety to the Ngungaru river mouth by another Coast Guard vessel.

All Coast Guard staff involved have been offered counselling after having to attend a callout involving their colleagues.

Coastguard Northern Region operations manager Ray Burge said the damaged rescue boat, launched last August, was no longer operable but there were other boats crews could use for callouts.

The accident was being investigated by a Coast Guard crew who would visit the scene tomorrow, he said.

"We don't know what's happened. They've come to grief one way or another - now whether that's through waves, rocks or what we don't know. The conditions were not that great up there, I think in excess of 40 knots [74km/h] of wind, so that's not that favourable."

Mr Burge said in seven years in the Coast Guard, he had not dealt with such an accident and he said the incident highlighted the dangers volunteers faced in tough conditions.

Mr Burge said fellow Coast Guard members from Whangarei and Tutukaka had attended the callout, with the second Tutukaka crew using a private boat to help their colleagues.

"They're fully trained for it. Obviously if it is your mates it is a little bit different to deal with but they've dealt with it exceptionally well."

Northland Electricity Rescue Helicopter chief pilot Pete Turnbull said all five crew had been winched to safety.

A Maritime NZ investigation is also under way.