Two people have died after a boat capsized while trying to cross a sandbar.

Emergency services rushed to the Yamba Breakwater, in northern NSW, after a boat failed to cross the Yamba coastal bar on Thursday.

A 52-year-old man was pulled from the water and taken to Maclean District Hospital for assessment and mandatory testing. 

A short time later, a woman was pulled from the water by a member of the public and a second man was spotted by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and rescued by Marine Rescue NSW.

Paramedics attempted to treat the pair but both died at the scene.

While yet to be formally identified, they are both believed to be aged in their 50s.

‘An investigation into the incident is underway by the NSW Police Force Marine Area Command,’ NSW Police said in a statement.

‘Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.’

Local fisherman Zac Keys was in a boat near the tragedy as it unfolded.

He recalled seeing a man scramble onto a liferaft and set off a flare. 

‘It got to the point where we were like, we just need to get the bloke,’ Mr Keys told 7News.

‘So we pulled up next to the raft, probably halfway out the bar in the swell, and I grabbed onto the bloke and ripped him over the side of the boat and put him on the deck.’

More to come…