The men, all from Victoria, had been fishing off the coast of Merimbula when two large waves broke over the stern of their boat.

They called for help at about 11am as their 6.4m boat started taking on water, but it capsized within seconds of their making the phone call.

A search and rescue operation involved the Eden Water Police, a Snowy Hydro SouthCare helicopter, a search and rescue helicopter, the Australian Maritime Search Authority's aircraft, the Dornier from Melbourne, and the Merimbula Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol vessel Sapphire. The plane spotted the boat at about 4pm, nine nautical miles east of Haycock Point near Merimbula.

Two of the men were found clinging to the boat and were winched to safety by the Snowy Hydro SouthCare helicopter. The third man was found half an hour later floating 100m from the boat and was also winched to safety.

The trio, aged 56, 57 and 61, were taken to Pambula District Hospital, with mild hypothermia. One of the men deteriorated later and was flown to Canberra last night. Eden Water Police coordinator Sergeant James Hinckley said that it had been ''a very good day, especially for the bloke who had drifted away''.