Sharks attack Russian sailors off Australia; three rescued

Three people on board a catamaran in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia have been rescued after the hulls of the vessel became damaged from several shark attacks

Vincent Thomas Etienne, Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Berezkin, the three people rescued after sharks attacked a yacht off the Australian coast, pose for a photo in Vanua Levu Island, Fiji July 31, 2023. Russian Ocean Way/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Three people on board a catamaran in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia have been rescued after the hulls of the vessel became damaged from several shark attacks, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said on Wednesday.

Satellite photos and a video on the AMSA website showed a large poart of the stern of the yacht torn away.

"The vessel departed from Vanuatu and was bound for Cairns (Australia) when contact was established. Both hulls of the vessel have been damaged following several shark attacks," the AMSA said in a statement.

Rescue crews responded to an emergency positioning beacon registered to the Tion, a nine-metre inflatable catamaran, early on Wednesday morning. The yacht was located about 835 kms (519 miles) southeast of Cairns in the Coral Sea.

AMSA requested the assistance of a Panama-flagged vehicle carrier, which successfully conducted the rescue.

The three passengers - two Russian and one French citizen - are due to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday, AMSA said.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)