plumbcrazy
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Has anyone heard more about this? I am just ASSUMING this is a dive boat.
Rescue underway of 37 people on sinking yacht
Mon, Feb 11 18:55 PM EST
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A rescue operation to save 37 people on a sinking yacht off Australia's northeast coast on Tuesday involved helicopters winching people to safety and passengers climbing tether ropes to reach a nearby island.
The twin-masted yacht with 32 passengers and 5 crew was washed onto rocks and holed in rough seas off Hook Island in the Whitsundays on the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef.
"It's considered too dangerous for the rescue boats to come alongside," said Emergency Management Queensland said in a statement.
A helicopter rescue crewman was lowered on to the yacht, which was lying at a 45-degree angle on rocks and being pounded by waves, and lashed tether lines from the boat to trees on shore.
While two helicopters winched some passengers off the yacht, others climbed along tether lines to reach Hook Island, said emergency officials.
(Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by David Fogarty)
Rescue underway of 37 people on sinking yacht
Mon, Feb 11 18:55 PM EST
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A rescue operation to save 37 people on a sinking yacht off Australia's northeast coast on Tuesday involved helicopters winching people to safety and passengers climbing tether ropes to reach a nearby island.
The twin-masted yacht with 32 passengers and 5 crew was washed onto rocks and holed in rough seas off Hook Island in the Whitsundays on the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef.
"It's considered too dangerous for the rescue boats to come alongside," said Emergency Management Queensland said in a statement.
A helicopter rescue crewman was lowered on to the yacht, which was lying at a 45-degree angle on rocks and being pounded by waves, and lashed tether lines from the boat to trees on shore.
While two helicopters winched some passengers off the yacht, others climbed along tether lines to reach Hook Island, said emergency officials.
(Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by David Fogarty)