Three rescued after vessel capsizes crossing Kawhia bar

Photo / File

Three boaties have been rescued this morning after their vessel capsized crossing the notorious Kawhia bar in Waikato.

The trio were plucked from the water next to their capsized 5.8m runabout by a member of the public at around 9.45am.

They all had their lifejackets on and have been praised for logging a bar crossing report with Coastguard radio before their attempt at heading to sea.

"They are all safe and well," said Coastguard Northern Region spokeswoman, Georgie Smith.

Bar crossings are renowned as being the most dangerous part of boating in New Zealand.

The Coastguard has previously hosted bar awareness days at Kawhia to try and reduce the number of fatalities and boat capsizes there.

Terangi "Toots" Woonton, 59, and Kairangi Samuela, 53, lost their lives when the boat they were in was swamped while crossing the Manukau Bar on Monday afternoon.

The two victims and three other survivors - all related - had earlier spent a day out fishing and were tipped into the treacherous sea at about 2pm.

The survivors endured choppy conditions for almost two hours before a family out sightseeing on their boat spotted one of the men and went to their aid.