Three men were rescued from the Coral Sea after “several shark attacks” damaged their inflatable catamaran.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority confirmed in a news release that both hulls of the 30-foot catamaran were damaged after the attack more than 500 miles off the Australian coast.
The three men, who were traveling to Cairns in far north Queensland, were rescued in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The ship’s distress beacon sent out a call at 1:30 a.m. local time.
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Vincent Thomas Etienne, Staislav Beryozkin and Evgeny Kovalevsky.
russian.ocean.way Instagram
AND video posted on AMSA’s official Twitter account, now known as X, shared footage of the search and rescue. “Remember to always carry a registered signal locator with you when you’re out on the water – it could help save your life,” read a tweet accompanying the clip.
“AMSA requested the assistance of the Panamanian-flagged carrier Dugong Ace and dispatched a Challenger rescue aircraft from Cairns to the scene. Dugong Ace successfully carried out the rescue and collected three people,” the statement added.
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Australian Maritime Safety Authority via AP
According to NBC News, the men left the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on August 28 for the final leg of their round-the-world trip.
According to the letter, the sailors aged between 28 and 64 were unharmed. Their belongings were also saved, but the catamaran was lost.
The trio, two Russians and one French, are expected to arrive in Brisbane, Australia on Thursday morning, the statement said.
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The trio sent an emergency signal from their catamaran.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority via AP
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Joe Zeller, a senior manager at AMSA, said in a video statement that the catamaran was “missing large sections of the hull,” CNN reported,
“The emergency beacon absolutely saved their lives,” he continued. “There are many reasons why ships are attacked by sharks, but the motivation of these sharks is not clear.”
Zeller added that the men were “very happy” to be rescued.
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According to the trip’s Instagram account @russian.ocean.way, the three men on board were Evgeny Kovalevsky, Stanislav Berezkin and Vincent Thomas Etienne.
According to one post, their vessel was first attacked by sharks on Monday and began to sink on Tuesday.
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Source: HIS Education