Five people have been rescued from the Waikato River near the Aratiatia Power Station this afternoon.

Police were called at just after 2pm to reports of people calling for help.

Police, search and rescue staff and a helicopter found five people who had been in difficulty in the river.

Three were rescued from a rock in mid-river and two managed to get ashore by themselves and were rescued from bush further downstream.

No one was seriously hurt but one woman was taken to Aratiatia by police to be checked out by ambulance staff.

At this stage it is unclear how the five people came to be in the river.