Three people have been rescued from a boat off the coast of Cairns after their boat was smashed by “several shark attacks”, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
AMSA said it co-ordinated the rescue of the three people who were on board a catamaran about 835km southeast of Cairns in the Coral Sea.
AMSA said it responded to a Russian-registered emergency positioning beacon at 1.30am. That beacon was registered to a 9-metre inflatable catamaran, called Tion which had left Vanuatu and was on its way to Cairns.
“Both hulls of the vessel have been damaged following several shark attacks,” AMSA said.
The rescue was carried out by a Panama-flagged cargo ship Dugong Ace. A rescue aircraft from Cairns was also called in.
Two Russians and one French citizen were rescued and were due to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday morning.