A boat that was engulfed in fire yesterday has sunk to the bottom of the ocean in the Bay of Islands.
Emergency services were called to the blaze just off of Moturua Island on Saturday afternoon.
Lewis Hudson was on a boat nearby, and said he could see thick black smoke pouring out.
"Really kind of intense fire, real kind of inferno. We were initially about 30 or 40 metres away and on a reasonably breezy day you could just hear the fire going."
Northland regional harbourmaster Jim Lyle said the owners had contacted their insurer and the boat would then be retrieved.
In the meantime the wreckage has been marked with a buoy so other water users can avoid it.
"It's a busy time of year out here for boats at the moment so the sooner we can get it out of the way, the better," he said.
Lyle said there was diesel on the boat, but most of this was likely burnt away in the fire.
RNZ
