Two people have escaped with minor injuries in a helicopter crash south-west of Thames in Waikato.
Police say the pilot and one passenger were slightly hurt when the helicopter crash-landed in mangroves near Waitakaruru, 24 km from Thames, about 9:30am on Sunday.
Fire communications shift manager Jaron Phillips says the fire service was called to the scene, but couldn't reach the crash site because it was so far from the road.
He says the first call in to the emergency services was from a fisherman on a boat in the firth of Thames.
Mr Phillips says the fisherman could see a helicopter flying quite low and then saw it come down and heard a bang and didn't see the helicopter come up again.
He says the pilot also contacted emergency services on his mobile phone, and the injured pair were winched out by another helicopter.
