Fears grow for six missing Australian fishermen

Authorities were alerted to the lost men out of "sheer luck" early Tuesday, some 12 hours after the trawler overturned


Afp October 17, 2017
fisherman PHOTO:REUTERS

SYDNEY: Fears were growing Tuesday for six fisherman missing after their ship capsized in wild seas off Australia's northeast coast, with severe weather hampering rescue efforts.

Authorities were alerted to the lost men out of "sheer luck" early Tuesday, some 12 hours after the trawler overturned, when crew on a passing yacht heard the screams of a seventh crew member and plucked him out of the water.

Air and sea rescue efforts off the Bundaberg coast in Queensland state have been hampered by heavy rain and rough seas, with up to 4.0-metre (13-foot) swells.

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"We are still holding out a lot of hope. We are still within a time that if they are in the water we hope to find them," rescue coordinator Sergeant Jeff Barnett told reporters.

"However, given the conditions, that is rapidly deteriorating."
The rescued man miraculously survived a night in the "treacherous seas" clinging to the hull of the 17-meter capsized trawler for hours before it sank.

"The lighthouse keeper said last night it was some of the worst conditions he'd seen during his time up there relieving," Barnett said. The weather was expected to worsen in the coming days, making visibility poor. Police said no emergency beacons were activated before the ship capsized.

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