Three desperate fishermen turn an ESKY into a life-raft after their boat capsized in a choppy sea
- Three men saved from rough seas by clinging to esky
- Authorities able to locate them thanks to an EPIRB
- The beacon gave them the exact location of the men
Three fisherman have been rescued after clinging to an esky in perilous waters after their boat capsized while on a morning fishing trip.
The men’s boat capsized off the coast of Eclipse Island, around 17 kilometres off-shore of Albany in southern Western Australia when it capsized and took on water at around 10am on Wednesday.
Luckily, the men were able to alert emergency services with an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) at about 10:30am and use life jackets and an esky to stay afloat.
Footage from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) shows the men clinging to the esky as heavy seas toss them around.
Three men have been saved while clinging to an esky (pictured) in rough seas after their boat capsized 17kms off the coast of Albany in southern WA on Wednesday morning
Albany Sea Rescue and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority were able to locate the men among the rough seas thanks to the EPIRB sending their exact location on the choppy seas to authorities.
‘In seas like this at the moment, it [locating the men] would be really difficult,’ Albany Sea Rescue co-coordinator, Chris Johns, told the ABC.
Mr Johns said there was only around an hour and 10 minutes between the beacon being set off and the the men being rescued.
The boat had almost completely sunken by the time the rescuers arrived at the scene, with only its tip seen above the water.
‘It was a really good result and shows how emergency services come together and particularly how necessary EPIRBs are,’ Mr Johns told WAToday.
The men’s exact location was sent to authorities with an emergency beacon which meant they were saved in just over an hour after getting into trouble, AMSA calling it ‘the difference between life and death’
Authorities have praised the men for carrying the beacon aboard, saying that without it they might have lost their lives.
‘In this case both may have meant the difference between life and death,’ AMSA said in a statement.
The three men were safely brought back to Emu Point at about 12:40pm, one of them being taken to hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
They had just acquired the boat second-hand in Perth and had set off to fish in areas tagged by the boat’s previous owner.
One of the men said he will be making a donation to Albany Sea Rescue as a thank you for the rescue.
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