Two Russians and a Frenchman were floating aboard an inflatable catamaran in the shark-infested Coral Sea off Australia. Fortunately for the three men, a freighter came to their rescue, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority reported on Wednesday. They were some 800 km southeast of the city of Cairns (northeast).
“Both hulls of the boat were damaged following several shark attacks,” the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in a statement. According to ASMA, the three surviving sailors wanted to reach the city of Cairns from the Vanuatu archipelago, located more than 2,000 km away.
Emergency locator transmitter
Early Wednesday morning, they activated a distress beacon. Footage taken from a helicopter showed the massive Dugong Ace freighter approaching the catamaran which was floating in calm seas.
The Coral Sea is teeming with gray reef sharks and other species, such as tuna and marlin. According to the Australian government, it is home to more sharks “than almost any other monitored site in the world”.