16 Mar 2014

Four people rescued from boat

10:07 pm on 16 March 2014

Four people have been rescued from a boat in the Foveaux Strait, after the boat's engine failed to start.

A Bluff Coastguard rescue vessel which was training in the area responded to the distress call on Sunday morning, along with a Stewart Island tour vessel carrying passengers to Half Moon Bay.

Search and rescue co-ordinator Ian Martin says the skipper and one crew member from the stranded boat were in the water diving, when two others on board were unable to start the motor.

But they managed to anchor the boat in the shelter of an island, while they waited for rescuers to arrive.