Men fished from sea

Auckland: A pair of fisherman clinging to a floating chilly bin were pulled from the sea in a dramatic rescue near Thames on Thursday.

The duo had been fishing when they came into heavy seas in the Firth of Thames.

‘‘A rogue wave hit the side of their boat, which filled with water and began to sink,’’ police said.

‘‘Luckily both of the men were wearing life jackets, and one of them was able to call police around 7.50pm to say their boat had sunk and they were in the water.’’

The police Eagle helicopter flew to the scene and spotted the men 35 minutes later ‘‘clinging to a chilly bin’’ in poor light and heavy seas.

A local couple used a boat to ferry police out to the fishermen and the men were pulled from the water.

‘‘By this time it was dark and the weather was extremely rough, and without the quick response from police and locals the outcome could have been tragic,’’ police said.

‘‘The pair were returned to land and treated by ambulance for hypothermia.’’ — The New Zealand Herald