Two fishermen are missing off rocks at the bottom of the South Island.
Police say the alarm was raised by people nearby around 4.20pm after the two men appeared to have been swept off rocks near Slope Point Road, on the island's south eastern coast.
A large rescue operation was mounted, including rescue helicopters from Queenstown and Dunedin, rescue swimmers, Bluff Coastguard, Bluff Harbour pilot vessel the Takitimu, and Catlins water rescue teams, along with three Southern region LandSAR groups.
The helicopters have since been stood down for the evening, but land and water-based search crews are continuing in a limited capacity tonight.
The search is expected to fully resume around 8.30am tomorrow.
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