The brother of a missing New Zealand diver says his family's prayers have been answered. The former navy diver has been found alive after 72 hours at sea. Police say the man was wearing only the bottom of his dive suit and was "very cold."

Searchers found Robert Hewitt alive after he'd been missing at sea for three days. He was found floating wearing only the bottom of his dive suit and "very cold," said Bruce Johnson, a police search and rescue official. Hewitt, 38, had survived on crawfish and kina, a type of sea urchin, he had caught while diving.Police say the father of two survived without water thanks to his training and experience as a former NZ navy diver. Hewitt is recovering in a Wellington hospital suffering from dehydration and hypothermia.

The family is "ecstatic" after all but giving up hope of him surviving after Hewitt failed to surface from the dive.