A dramatic rescue occurred late Monday afternoon off Inskip Point after a large wave reportedly capsized a yacht, flinging two men into the churning sea.
The Sunshine Coast RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter was tasked by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) around 5pm, after the pair activated an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).
The helicopter crew flew to the location, but couldn’t see the vessel so they immediately began searching for people in the water.
They spotted one of the men and lowered an auto-inflating life raft down to him, before spotting a second man, about 200m away, wearing a flashing head torch.
The second man was in a perilous position with large waves crashing around him, so the decision was made to winch him to the safety of the helicopter.
The chopper then circled above the first man, ensuring he was safe while the Tin Can Bay Coast Guard vessel came to retrieve him and return him to shore, and medical assessment.
The helicopter crew flew back to base on the Sunshine Coast, where the man they had rescued was treated by the LifeFlight Critical Care Doctor and Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics.
