Two men have been plucked to safety by Taupo's Greenlea Rescue Helicopter after being stranded on rocks in the middle of a raging river for about three hours.
The helicopter was called by the rescue co-ordination centre after they received a signal from a personal locating beacon on Friday night.
The beacon came from the upper reaches of the Motu river and had been set off by two kayakers.
Using the co-ordinates provided by the centre, the helicopter crew were able to find the pair via the strobe light on the beacon.
The two men were in a narrow section of the river with the hills on either side rising steeply. Having descended to the river level the crew hover loaded two LandSAR members onto the rocks.
One man was clearly visible stranded on a rock in the middle of the swiftly flowing series of rapids. After approximately 10-15 minutes of hovering the helicopter crew were able to find the only suitable landing site among the car-sized boulders in the river bed.
Pilot Nat Every said it transpired that while trying to negotiate this particularly difficult section of the river on foot, one of the men slipped on the rocks and was swept into the main flow.
He was able to perch himself on a rock in the middle of the river but was unable to reach the river bank on either side.
During the course of the incident they managed to lose both of their kayaks and most of their belongings.
Mr Every said fortunately they were carrying the personal locating beacon on them and were able to send a distress signal.
After around three hours trapped precariously on the rock in the middle of the raging river, the LandSAR team were able to set a rope anchor and pull the men to safety.