Four workers owe a local Ōpōtiki pilot a round of beers after he used a scoop net to rescue them from a barge near the new harbour development.
Steven Woods was wrapping up a busy day as a pilot for Motu Helicopters, operated by Heli-Hire, when he flew over Ōpōtiki township to take some photos of the flooding.
The region's been hammered over the last few days by heavy rain.
More than 200mm has fallen in the past 24 hours which has caused high water levels and pooling in parts of the town.
Woods told 1News he often takes images from the air for the community so they can see firsthand what is happening.
One of the images shows the barge precariously close to the sea wall.
He said he'd only just landed when the Coastguard called and said "four people need rescuing".
He told 1News "they were in the shit" and air was "gushing out of the barge" meaning water was coming in, describing the situation as a smaller scale Titanic.
Flying over the stricken vessel, he determined it was too risky to land on the barge and opted for the scoop net instead.
Steven Woods said the river mouth was fast flowing and if they hadn't acted right away, the workers could've ended up in the water and would've "vanished out to sea".
He said it appeared the pressure of the water had dislodged the barge from its lines, and when he arrived the barge was drifting near the entrance.
In a statement police said "four people are reported to be on board and a helicopter and Coastguard have been dispatched to rescue them from the vessel".
Woods said he scooped the workers up individually, and transported them about 30 metres to the sea wall.
It was a five minute job, but one that required skill and precision.
He said the workers would've been "pretty stoked" to see him, as they were in "dire straits with all that current rushing out to sea".
"Another sling job at the end of the day."
Police said no one was injured in the incident.
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