Two people rescued from fishing boat

The Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand this morning coordinated the rescue of two people from a fishing boat that has just sunk, 27 kilometres northwest of Hokitika.

The 16-metre-long fishing boat, Mamari, began taking on water early this morning and the crew contacted the Maritime Safety Authority radio centre for assistance.

Search and Rescue Mission Controller John Dickson says the boat’s bilge pump couldn’t keep up with the amount of water entering the vessel, so the Centre sent a call for assistance from other vessels in the area.

“Another fishing vessel, Mako, responded quickly, arrived at the vessel soon after, assessed the situation, and began towing the Mamari towards Greymouth.

“Unfortunately, the Mamari had soon taken on so much water that it had to be abandoned and the two crewman evacuated to the Mako. The Mamari sunk at 11.20am,” he said.

The Maritime Safety Authority will be investigating.

Mamari is a wooden vessel built in 1950, and is based in Greymouth.

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