Manukau Harbour rescue: Four saved from sinking boat

Four people were rescued from a sinking ship off the Manukau Bar on Saturday afternoon. Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust

Four people have been saved from a sinking boat in the Manukau Harbour.

Dramatic images show the boat barely afloat as rescue vessels approach at the Manukau Bar on Auckland's west coast.

A spokesman for the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust said it was contacted early this afternoon about a "search and rescue" operation.

It involved four people onboard a "sinking boat" on the Manukau Bar.

The quartet were later spotted by the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter's chief intensive care paramedic Karl Taylor "clinging to the bow of the boat".

Shortly afterwards they were pulled from the water by four recreational boats, before being transferred to a Coastguard vessel.

The Westpac Rescue chopper was then stood down and returned to its base.