Three crewman who fled a Korean fishing trawler that arrived in Bluff Harbour carrying a body have been found by police.
Officers had been looking for the Vietnamese trio who absconded from the vessel - the Southern Ocean - after it reached Southland about 2pm on Monday, with a dead Chinese crewman onboard.
On Wednesday, police confirmed the missing men had been found on the southern outskirts of Invercargill about 5am.
They were in good health, Detective Sergeant Dave Kennelly said.
He said the trio had now been turned over to Immigration New Zealand.
The ship left port on Tuesday without the missing men after police failed to find them.
The dead crewman had been injured while the boat was fishing in the Southern Ocean about a week ago, police earlier said.
They are investigating the death on behalf of the coroner.
Reports suggest the killed man was hurt when a number of crew members were swept overboard.
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