Two men and a woman have been rescued from their battered yacht, Platino, around 550 kilometres north of New Zealand by the crew of the container ship Southern Lily.

Yesterday, the Rescue Coordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ) was alerted at 11.20am that one man had been killed and another man knocked overboard from the 20m Platino, which sustained serious rigging damage in winds of up to 75km/h (40 knots).

Sea conditions were described as ‘extremely dangerous’ and ‘too hazardous to be on deck’. The search area is out of range to all but fixed wing aircraft.

A search by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) got under way yesterday for the missing crewman, aged 63, who is believed to have been swept overboard after being hit by the boom in high winds, which later caused the yacht’s rigging to collapse before midday yesterday.

The body of the man who died remained on board – as his fellow crew tried to secure the rigging and the mast that was drifting alongside the yacht.

The RCCNZ kept in contact with the three remaining crew overnight via satellite phone.

The container ship Southern Lily re-routed and a rescue line was used to help get the trio safely on board around 3pm today.

Meanwhile, an RNZAF P3 Orion resumed searching today for the missing sailor.

The aircraft subsequently took position above the two vessels later this morning, to provide support and communications during the rescue of the three crew from Platino.