Passengers alive after boat capsizes on Lake Eildon

Three people are recovering in hospital after a group of eight was rescued when their boat capsized on Lake Eildon on Thursday night.

Eight people have survived after a boat capsized on Lake Eildon on Thursday night.

Three of those on board were able to swim to shore, while two were found on a tree in the water and another three swam to a nearby island in the middle of the lake.

The group was on board a boat in the lake near Homepoint Drive in Bonnie Doon when it began to sink about 6.50pm.

They waited to be rescued by emergency services late on Thursday night.

Police vision of the rescue at Lake Eildon. Picture: Victoria Police

A man believed to be in his 20s suffered hypothermia before being flown to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition, emergency services said on Friday.

Two others were taken to nearby Northeast Health Wangaratta for observation but were also assessed as stable.

Two people cling on to a tree at Lake Eildon after their boat capsized. Picture: Victoria Police

The remaining four – two of whom are believed to be in their 20s and the other two in their teens – were assessed by paramedics but did not require treatment or transport.

The ambulance was called to a report of the capsize just before 7pm, when a significant cold front swept across the state.

Dramatic footage from a police helicopter tracking the rescue shows two people clinging on to a tree protruding from the water while inclement weather pushes waves across the lake.

A flare glows metres away from them while they await the arrival of a marine fire rescue boat.

The vessel then circles in to pick them up before taking them back to land.