An elderly man is believed to have been in the water for several hours after falling out of a kayak in Otago Harbour.
A police spokeswoman said police were notified at 3.30pm that a person had fallen from a boat and appeared to be having difficulty getting back on board.
A rescue team in a boat picked the man up and brought him to shore, but he was unable to immediately be brought up a steep bank.
Water rescue teams were called to Roseneath after the man was spotted apparently clinging to the back of a small boat in the harbour this afternoon.
He is now in a serious condition in Dunedin Hospital after being airlifted by chopper.
A neighbour said the man was in his 70s and had been on the harbour in a kayak.
Photo: Tim Scott
"The boat was moored just out of the boatshed at the end of Clyde St, Roseneath."
The area is difficult to access and an Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Trust chopper was scrambled to the scene.
Rescuers at the boat. Photo: Max Quinn
He was winched on to the helicopter and taken to hospital.
