Three fishermen have been rescued after spending all night on a small rock off the coast of Northland.
The men were meant to return from a fishing trip by 9pm last night but the police launched a major search this morning when they still had not showed up.
Inspector Andy Brill said searchers found the men's overturned dinghy north of Karikari peninsula at about 7.30am.
Mr Brill said one man was plucked from the rock by a Coastguard boat.
The two others - one who was suffering from hypothermia and the other who had gashes from the rocks - had to be winched to safety by helicopter.
He said the men needed medical treatment and were lucky to be alive.
The Coastguard said the rock would have been underwater at high tide and the men were not wearing lifejackets and were very lucky the situation did not turn out worse.
