National

Austrian sailor rescued 100km off WA coast

By AAP Newswire

Sep 3, 2022

The sailor, waving at his rescuers. — An Austrian sailor has been rescued by the crew of a bulk carrier off the West Australia coast. -PR Handout Image

An Austrian sailor has been rescued after his catamaran capsized off the coast of Western Australia while he was trying to cross the Indian Ocean from Indonesia.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The man was sailing from the Asian nation to Fremantle south of Perth when his 11-metre catamaran overturned, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.

The direct distance between the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Fremantle is about 3000kms.

The sailor used numerous methods to alert authorities he had run into trouble around 3.30pm on Friday, said AMSA, which oversaw the rescue.

A rescue aircraft, rescue helicopter and the bulk carrier MV Seapearl, registered to the Marshall Islands, all joined the search.

The sailor was eventually found overnight by the Seapearl about 60 nautical miles west of Kalbarri, in the state's Mid West region, floating in a life raft.

Grainy footage of the man taken during the challenging rescue showed him waving to his rescuers from the life raft in dark waters.

The man was still on the Seapearl on Saturday.

"We thank MV Seapearl for their cooperation," ASMAÂ said.