Three sailors whose boat was damaged in multiple shark attacks have been rescued
Three sailors from Russia and France were rescued on Wednesday after the inflatable catamaran they were trying to pilot from Vanuatu to Australia was attacked by sharks, authorities said :30 p.m. When rescuers arrived at the scene of the accident more than 500 miles east of the Australian coast in the When they arrived in the Coral Sea, they found that both hulls of the men’s 30-foot boat had been damaged after multiple shark attacks. The agency enlisted the help of a Panamanian. The flagship Dugong Ace was able to complete the rescue and take on board the two Russians and one Frenchman. A rescue plane also flew to the scene of the accident. “The three men were very fortunate to be rescued and they are all healthy and well,” said Joe Zeller, duty manager at the agency’s Canberra Response Center. The men, aged between 28 and 64, are due to arrive in the Australian city of Brisbane on Thursday. Zeller said a trip on such a ship from the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to Australia would typically take two to three weeks. Aerial photos showed severe damage to the catamaran. The front part of one hull was completely missing. Zeller said the GPS-coded distress signal saved the men’s lives by allowing rescuers to quickly pinpoint their location and initiate an appropriate rescue operation. He said there are many reasons why a shark might attack a boat. “However, the motivations of these sharks are unclear,” said Zeller.
Three sailors from Russia and France were rescued on Wednesday after the inflatable catamaran they were piloting from Vanuatu to Australia was attacked by sharks, authorities said.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it responded to an alert from a distress signal around 1:30am. When rescuers arrived at the scene of the accident more than 500 miles east of Australia’s Coral Sea coast, they found both hulls of the 30-foot boat damaged after multiple shark attacks.
The agency enlisted the help of a Panamanian-flagged vessel, the Dugong Ace, which was able to conduct the rescue and get the two Russians and one Frenchman on board. A rescue plane also flew to the scene of the accident.
“The three men were very fortunate to be rescued and they are all healthy and well,” said Joe Zeller, duty manager at the agency’s Canberra Operations Center.
The men, aged between 28 and 64, are due to arrive in the Australian city of Brisbane on Thursday.
Zeller said a trip on such a ship from the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to Australia would typically take two to three weeks.
Aerial photos showed extensive damage to the catamaran, with the front part of one hull missing entirely.
Zeller said the GPS-coded distress signal saved the men’s lives by allowing rescuers to quickly pinpoint their location and initiate an appropriate rescue operation. He said there are many reasons why a shark might attack a boat.
“However, the motivations of these sharks are unclear,” said Zeller.
