A local diver said he feared for his life as he rescued an orca whale caught in rope off the Coromandel coast.

Rhys Cochrane, the Dive Master at Cathedral Cove Hahei, said as he went under the water to cut the rope from the whale he became afraid for his own safety.

"Just before I dove down to cut the line about five other orcas as well as one massive bull came round and that's when I started getting a little bit scared with this thing in the water about three times the size of me."

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