THREE men miraculously survived after their helicopter crashed into the freezing sub-Antarctic waters off New Zealand’s southern tip by swimming to shore at night and camping on an island for hours until they were rescued.

Helicopter pilot Andrew Hefford, paramedic John Lambeth and winchman Lester Stevens were recovering at a hospital after they were found Tuesday on an island about 450 km south of New Zealand, according to statements from the Rescue Coordination Center NZ.

The helicopter disappeared Monday near the Auckland Islands en route to a medical evacuation off a fishing vessel. The Coordination Center began search operations shortly after receiving a report of the missing aircraft, but there was little hope of finding survivors due to the ice cold waters and deteriorating weather conditions in the Southern Ocean.

One of the survivors, Stevens, told online news portal Stuff that he was knocked unconscious when the aircraft hit the water.

He recalled swimming to land on his back and kicking and remembered Lambeth and Hefford dragging him out of the water. Once on land, they built a hut and waited to be rescued.

(SD-Agencies)