Four people are dead and one remains missing after a boat ran into difficulty off Te Hapua in the Far North.
Ten people were onboard the fishing vessel when it activated an emergency beacon after it began sinking about 8pm on Sunday.
Five of those onboard were rescued and were taken to Kaitaia Hospital. They have since been discharged, the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) said.
"This is a significant rescue operation, with a number of agencies working together in the search," RCC spokesman Nick Burt said. "The weather conditions are more favorable today and we are completely focused on the search and rescue for the two people unaccounted for," he said on Monday afternoon.
Police said two bodies were found in the water on Monday morning and were recovered by a helicopter while the third body was recovered by a boat assisting with the water search.
In an update, police said a fourth body was found on Monday afternoon.
"The body has been retrieved this afternoon by a vessel supporting the search operation," a police statement said.
"Search efforts, led by the Rescue Coordination Centre at Maritime NZ, are ongoing to locate a fifth person who remains unaccounted for."
Maritime New Zealand said on Monday evening the search for the fifth person would resume on Tuesday morning.
"This is an active search for the remaining person unaccounted for and the rescuers are focused on finding them and will explore every option. Police divers also arrived to the scene this evening and will be heading out tomorrow morning.
"Conditions tomorrow morning are expected to be favourable for the rescue effort."
A source close to the investigation told Newshub the hull had been found broken in half, the wheelhouse ripped off with the debris field stretching 10km out to sea.
It’s understood Enchanter is the company whose boat is at the centre of the maritime tragedy. It is familiar to most serious anglers in New Zealand and was formerly based in Whakatane.
One person linked to the search said this was shaping up to be a "maritime tragedy" as it was "looking pretty grim".
The charter boat had 10 people onboard when it left from Mangonui on a five-day charter to Three Kings Islands.
It was heading back from Three Kings Islands when the weather turned.
Three Kings Islands are a group of 13 uninhabited islands about 55km northwest of Cape Reinga.
