EPIRB rescue provides safety reminder

An emergency distress beacon played a vital role in the search and rescue of two men and a teenage boy off Evans Head on the NSW north coast last Sunday, August 28, in a rescue coordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

The men were two nautical miles off Evans Head when their boat took on water and sank early on Sunday morning.

An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was activated and alerted authorities to the distress. The beacon was registered with AMSA.

AMSA Search and Rescue received the beacon detection at about 8.20 am and tasked a helicopter and three volunteer marine rescue vessels from Evans Head, Yamba and Ballina.

The Lismore based Westpac Lifesaver helicopter located the two men and teenager and winched them to safety about 9.20 am. All three were uninjured and flown safely the short distance to Evans Head by the helicopter in two separate trips.

The Westpac Lifesaver helicopter crew reported that they located two adult males and one 13yo male in the water wearing life jackets, approximately 1.8kms off the coast south of Evans Head. Their vessel was reported to have taken on water and was partially submerged, the three survivors were located holding onto the remaining parts of the vessel.

The Life Saver helicopter winched a water rescue crew member into the ocean to recover the three people. All were transported to Evans Head; the helicopter Paramedic reported that all three sustained no injuries apart from water exposure.

The emergency locator beacon was activated by the skipper of the vessel after he returned back into the partially submerged vessel to recover the registered beacon and activate the device which allowed the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter to fly directly to the scene using GPS coordinates.

The initial alert received by AMSA came from the new Medium-altitude Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) system for emergency distress beacons.

The new technology became operational on August 19 and is delivering a faster and more accurate detection of distress beacon signals, improving search and rescue response times.

AMSA urges all beacon owners to ensure their beacon is registered. It’s free, fast and simple and can be completed on the distress beacon website at www.amsa.gov.au/beacons or by phoning (02) 6279 5000.

A registered GPS beacon could make all the difference in a life threatening situation. Australia is the biggest user of distress beacons in the world on a per capita basis, with more than 450,000 beacons currently registered. More at www.amsa.gov.au.