Runaway boat that injured two men recovered off NSW coast

An unmanned runaway boat believed to be missing since two men were injured after the vessel ran over them has been recovered off the New South Wales coast.

Marine Rescue NSW said today a volunteer crew retrieved the vessel after it was found by a fisherman four nautical miles east of Manning Point on the Mid North Coast yesterday morning.

Inspector Rodney Page said Marine Rescue NSW volunteers had been on alert for the runaway boat after numerous sightings.

READ MORE: Matildas triumph in penalty shootout thriller over France to book World Cup semi final

The fisherman tied a line to the distressed vessel and stayed with it until the crew arrived and then towed the vessel back to shore.

He said it had sustained major damage.

"Retrieving this vessel is a great outcome, it not only removes a navigational hazard but the owner will have it returned," Page said.

"Vessels usually left to drift are never seen again."

The search for the runaway boat started on August 1 when it took off unmanned in the surf zone at Queens Head, north of Port Macquarie.

READ MORE: One man dead, another injured after gyrocopter crashed into tree

The two men were thrown overboard and injured after the vessel ran over them.

NSW Police are expected to return the vessel to its owner.

Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.