Four fishermen have been rescued from the commercial vessel Honey Dew which caught fire off the West Coast of the South Island this morning and began taking on water.
A flare was sighted about 6.20am and a radio broadcast made to vessels in the area to assist.
Another commercial fishing vessel responded to the call and recovered the Honey Dew crew. It is currently en route to Jackson's Bay and is expected there about 3pm today.
Meanwhile the stricken vessel is drifting about 500 metres offshore near Knights Point, north of Haast.
The ongoing management of the vessel is under the authority of Maritime NZ.
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