Three people were rescued from a 12m launch off the Hawke's Bay coast early this morning in conditions which posed "significant challenges".
Coastguard Hawke's Bay responded to a distress call from the vessel at 9.04pm last night. It was initially located due east of Napier and was about 45 miles offshore. It had run into difficulty due to "adverse wind and swell conditions".
Two of those onboard the launch were injured — one had sustained a minor back injury and the other had lacerations and cuts as windows had smashed.
The NZ Herald reports the pair were injured when the launch came off a wave, sending one of them into the air and showering the other in glass. The one flung into the air hit their head on the roof and landed back on their bottom, hurting their back.
Coastguard said the vessel's position shifted over time, with volunteers forced to deploy a parachute flare from their vessel, Celia Knowles Rescue, in order to find the vessel amid poor visibility and mist.
The distressed vessel was eventually located at 12.35am after the Celia Knowles Rescue fought wind speeds reaching 20 to 30 knots and swells up to 3m high.
"Navigating through the mist and darkness, as well as the swell, posed significant challenges," Celia Knowles' skipper Henry van Tuel said.
"We're grateful to have found the vessel and everyone onboard was okay."
After the trio were safely aboard the Celia Knowles they had a medical check-up, making it back to shore and to a waiting ambulance at 5.30am.
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