Three banana farm workers are still missing off the north coast of Queensland after their boat sank on the way back from a fishing trip to the Great Barrier Reef.
Key points:
- Police have high fears for the three fishermen who have been missing at sea since Saturday morning
- A man, in the group of four, was rescued Sunday afternoon
- He was taken to hospital with hypothermia and exposure after being in the water for 30 hours
A group of four men left Clump Point near Mission Beach on Friday night on a 5.2-meter fiberglass fishing boat.
Acting Inspector Brett Jenkins said the group consisted of a 24-year-old Mission Beach man who owned the boat, two 26- and 31-year-old Vanuatu nationals and a 36-year-old Tongan national.
“Around 11am on Saturday morning we believe the boat started to pick up water and quickly sank somewhere around the Bernat Islands,” he said.
“Unfortunately, they were unable to activate the EPIRB on the boat or put on any of the life jackets.”
Emergency services were alerted Sunday morning after the men did not return and an air and water search began.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority asked Mission Helicopters co-owner Ray Cronin on Sunday afternoon to help search for the men.
Mr Cronin said he and a crew member were able to locate the 36-year-old Tonga national around 4.30pm on Sunday.
“He was holding a reasonably large white buoy,” Cronin said.
“Because of the shape of the buoy and the contrast of the color, we were able to choose it … otherwise, it’s like a needle in a haystack with all the white caps around.”
Cronin said the helicopter remained in the air around the survivor until another search and rescue personnel could pull him out of the water.
“The important thing when you identify survivors is not to lose eye contact with them because in these conditions it is very difficult to re-identify them,” he said.
“Another search helicopter dropped a life raft, which he was able to board.
“Eventually, an army of civilians, police and other rescue boats converged on the scene and took him on board.”
Yesterday a man was found floating, clinging to an element near the North Barnard Islands. (ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)
Acting inspector Jenkins said the 36-year-old was thought to have been in the water for up to 30 hours when he was rescued.
He said the man was taken to Innisfail Hospital with hypothermia and exposure, but that he had helped reduce the search and rescue area by providing information on where and how the ship sank.
“We still have some assets in the water, but we are concentrating more along the coastlines and coasts just in the hope that the survivors will have reached the coast,” he said.
“We certainly have serious concerns for their well-being.”
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Posted 10 hours, 10 hours ago, Monday, July 11, 2022 at 3:02 AM, updated 7 hours, 7 hours ago, Monday, July 11, 2022 at 6:12 AM