NEWS
3 Sailors Rescued After ‘Several Shark Attacks’ Damage Inflatable Boat Off The Coast of Australia
Courtesy of @AMSA_News via X
Three sailors en route from Vanuatu to Australia were rescued Wednesday after their inflatable catamaran was attacked by sharks, authorities said.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority responded to an emergency radio beacon at around 1:30 a.m. AEST Wednesday, and found the 27-foot catamaran approximately 520 miles southeast of the coastal city of Cairns, in the Coral Sea.
Both hulls of the catamaran were damaged in “several shark attacks,” the AMSA said in a statement.
The agency requested the assistance of Panama-flagged vehicle carrier Dugong Ace, which successfully completed the rescue of the three sailors, two Russians and one French citizen. The sailors were scheduled to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday.
“This is a timely reminder to always carry a distress beacon while on the water,” the AMSA said.
Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific, lies nearly 1,500 miles east of Queensland, in Australia’s northeast, on the other side of the Coral sea. The Queensland coast is home to the Great Barrier Reef.
TMX contributed to this article.
