Sailors rescued from sinking yacht in Coral Sea, 350km east of Brisbane
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Three sailors have been saved from a sinking yacht hundreds of kilometres off the Queensland coast.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) from QLD and Victoria, NSW Police, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and a cargo vessel all responded to help the three crew members, who issued a distress signal about 7am on Sunday.
Their 17m yacht was at risk of sinking in the Coral Sea about 350km east of Brisbane after it took on water and experienced electrical problems.
The crew used a satellite emergency notification device to alert AMSA.
An AMSA spokesman said the agency deployed the Essendon and Cairns-based Challenger rescue aircraft, which arrived at the yacht's location at 10am and 11.30am.
The aircraft dropped two life rafts, communication equipment and a dewatering pump to the yacht.
Cargo vessel Darya Nitya was nearby and responded to AMSA's request for assistance, arriving about 5pm.
NSW Police boat Nemesis arrived at 6.45pm and rescued all three crew members.
An ADF aircraft provided communication support while the rescue was underway.
'This incident is a strong reminder of the importance of carrying a suitable distress beacon while offshore — it may save your life,' an AMSA spokesman said.
Originally published as Three sailors rescued from sinking yacht in Coral Sea, 350km east of Brisbane
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
‘Tragic, unnecessary': Missed chance before plane crash
A phone call minutes before a deadly firefighting crash was a missed opportunity to save the lives of those on board during the preventable tragedy, an investigation has found. Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell released a report on Thursday into the crash of the twin-engine Gulfstream 695A aircraft near Mount Isa, in the Queensland outback. 'This was a tragic and entirely preventable and unnecessary accident that took three precious lives,' he said. 'The dangers of aircraft owners and pilots engaging in practices that deliberately circumvent critical safety defences cannot be underestimated.' The aircraft was conducting aerial fire surveillance operations for bushfires in the state's north-west on November 4, 2024. There were radio communication issues with the pilot indicating a lack of oxygen in the body, a condition known as hypoxia, before the plane crashed near Cloncurry. A pilot and two camera operators, including 22-year-old American William Jennings, were on board the plane. It was operated by AGAIR, a Victoria-based firm that specialises in aerial firefighting.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Tragic, unnecessary': Missed chance before plane crash
A phone call minutes before a deadly firefighting crash was a missed opportunity to save the lives of those on board during the preventable tragedy, an investigation has found. Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell released a report on Thursday into the crash of the twin-engine Gulfstream 695A aircraft near Mount Isa, in the Queensland outback. 'This was a tragic and entirely preventable and unnecessary accident that took three precious lives,' he said. 'The dangers of aircraft owners and pilots engaging in practices that deliberately circumvent critical safety defences cannot be underestimated.' The aircraft was conducting aerial fire surveillance operations for bushfires in the state's north-west on November 4, 2024. There were radio communication issues with the pilot indicating a lack of oxygen in the body, a condition known as hypoxia, before the plane crashed near Cloncurry. A pilot and two camera operators, including 22-year-old American William Jennings, were on board the plane. It was operated by AGAIR, a Victoria-based firm that specialises in aerial firefighting.
The Age
5 days ago
- The Age
Demolition experts go to great lengths
In an effort to keep the peace and avoid a battle of wills (not to mention 10 Ball Magical Shooters), we're going to put a cap on the home armaments (C8) chapter very soon. But we do have room for Joy Cooksey of Harrington: 'On the aftermath of one cracker night, my brother built himself a pea-shooter. All the powder from the various unexploded crackers was collected and tipped into a piece of steel piping clamped in the workbench vice. But as he rammed down the largest ball bearing available, this supersized pea-shooter was activated. Any reference to the hole in the ceiling always made him think twice before considering any other inventions.' Doug Vorbach and his 'orange cannon' escapade reminded Les Tomlinson of Berowra Heights of his own adventures: 'We used a length of two-inch galvanised water pipe, tuppenny bungers and lemons with devastating effect. We also used metal downpiping and rockets as a makeshift bazooka. When eventually conscripted into the ADF in the mid-1960s, it was probably inevitable that I found myself assigned to an artillery unit.' Kerrie Wehbe of Blacktown remembers a more melodic repurposing of pipes: 'During my years teaching in PNG's Milne Bay Province, the students used PVC pipes with rubber stretched over one end to do the job of the traditional kundu drum. This modern item, among all the traditional grass skirts, shells, plants and feathers, was quite a sight, but it did the job.' Peter Singer of Hamilton South reckons 'HE STOOD CORRECTED' seems like a suitable statement for Richard Stewart's headstone (C8) and adds that 'maybe for someone whose missives for Column 8 are continually ignored it could be 'HE LAYS REJECTED'?' 'Put those know-it-alls in their place, Richard,' implores Col Burns of Lugarno. 'Expand your epitaph to 'HE ONCE STOOD CORRECTED BUT NOW HE RESOLUTELY MAINTAINS HIS POSITION'.' Philip Laird of Keiraville notes that 'the bus stop outside the Wollongong Botanic Garden on Northfield Avenue, and opposite the busiest bus stop in Wollongong at the university's main campus, has a timetable dated January 27, 2015. Since then it's just possible that some services have been added and some withdrawn.' 'If the chicken Bob Selinger (C8) writes about is not claimed, I wonder if its goose is cooked?' ponders Wayne Duncombe of Lilyfield. Either way, Tim Slack-Smith of Castle Hill considers the whole thing 'just a poultry piece of fowl play'.
