Coastguard Sumner volunteers aboard Hamilton Jet Rescue have pulled four people from the water following a capsize this afternoon.
At around 1.30pm, emergency services including Police, Rescue Helicopter and Coastguard were alerted to a vessel in difficulty on the bar near Sumner Beach.
Eight volunteers quickly responded, with an experienced three-man crew launching Hamilton Jet Rescue in just over 10 minutes following being paged.
In rainy and messy sea conditions, volunteers sped to the scene, running parallel to Sumner Beach to the estuary. Thanks to their local experience and information to hand, four people were swiftly picked up from the water. Fortunately all were wearing lifejackets. The patients were then transferred to shore experiencing mild hypothermia symptoms where they were supported by a Coastguard volunteer until ambulances arrived.
Coastguard Sumner skipper Heather McDonald said it was close to low tide at the time of the incident, with 1m waves breaking on the bar.
"When volunteers arrived on scene, the four people were quickly brought onboard and returned to the Christchurch Yacht Club where they launched from," she said.
"This was a textbook rescue from our volunteers. With many volunteers living and working close to our base, this enabled a swift response and thankfully a good outcome."
The 5.8 metre Hamilton Jet Rescue is specifically constructed for the local surf conditions in the Sumner area.
