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6 months ago
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Three men who spent over 12 hours forlornly clinging to a capsized 5-metre tinnie about 200km off Australia's shore were eventually rescued by a combined air and sea craft operation.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) received an emergency distress beacon signal at around 3.30pm on Thursday with three men reported missing from the Murray Islands in the Torres Strait off far north Queensland.
Three men have been rescued from an overturned tinnie that was adrift around 200km from Australia's shore
A Challenger rescue aircraft was scrambled from its Cairns base and spotted two men perched on the upturned hull with one holding on from the water.
The Challenger crew reported the conditions were 'adverse' with a swell of 1.5m and winds reaching 37km/h.
However, the airplane dropped a liferaft and communications kit to the men, which then allowed them to stay in contact with the vessel.
The fishing vessel Torres Express was called in to find the men, picking them up about 3.30am on Friday morning.
A police vessel Conroy was also dispatched to the area from Thursday Island while a second Challenger rescue aircraft was sent to maintain visual contact with the liferaft until the Torres Express could pick them up.
A rescue aircraft spotted the three men adrift and were able to drop a life raft and communications kit to the stranded trio
Despite their long ordeal the men are reported to to be safe and well with no serious injuries.
An AMSA spokesperson said the incident highlighted the importance of an emergency signal beacon.
'If your vessel is in distress a registered emergency beacon can allow AMSA to respond immediately to an incident, which could be the difference between life and death in an emergency,' the spokesperson said.
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