The men issued a Mayday radio call at around 5:30am (Qld time) which was picked up by the REEF Vessel Traffic Service and forwarded to AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra.
A short time after making the Mayday call, the men activated their emergency beacon, alerting AMSA to their location, 60 nm north of Weipa.
A rescue helicopter from Horn Island arrived at the scene a short time later and winched the men from their life raft. They are receiving medical attention at Thursday Island.
The men were well prepared with the necessary safety equipment and by raising the alarm via radio and activating their beacon, authorities were able to attend the scene quickly.
Before heading out on the water this summer, AMSA reminds people to ensure they have purchased a GPS-equipped beacon and have registered the beacon with AMSA.
This significantly reduces the response time for search and rescue agencies.