Three men who spent more than 12 hours clinging forlornly to a capsized 5-metre tinnie about 200 kilometers off the coast of Australia were finally rescued by a combined air and sea vessel operation.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) received an emergency distress beacon signal about 3.30pm on Thursday with three men reported missing off the Murray Islands in the Torres Strait, off far north Queensland.
Three men have been rescued from a capsized tinnie that was adrift about 200 kilometers off the coast of Australia.
A Challenger rescue plane left its base in Cairns and saw two men perched on the capsized hull, one of them clinging to the water.
The Challenger crew reported that conditions were “adverse”, with a swell of 1.5 m and winds reaching 37 km/h.
However, the plane dropped a life raft and communications equipment to the men, allowing them to remain in contact with the ship.
The Torres Express fishing boat was called to look for the men and picked them up around 3:30 a.m. on Friday.
A Conroy police boat was also sent to the area from Thursday Island, while a second Challenger rescue plane was sent to maintain visual contact with the life raft until the Torres Express could pick them up.
A rescue plane spotted the three men adrift and was able to drop a life raft and communications equipment to the stranded trio.
Despite their long experience, the men are reported to be safe and sound, with no serious injuries.
An AMSA spokesperson said the incident highlighted the importance of an emergency signal beacon.
“If your vessel is in danger, a registered emergency beacon can allow AMSA to respond immediately to an incident, which could make the difference between life and death in an emergency,” the spokesperson said.
