Three Austrian nationals were rescued early on Sunday morning in a search and rescue operation off Cape Kamenjak, after their yacht suffered damage in a storm that hit the northern Adriatic during the night. The shipwreck survivors were found uninjured on a life raft, reports Novi list.
The National Coordination Centre for Search and Rescue at Sea (MRCC Rijeka) received the distress call at 04:44. Due to poor visibility and difficult communication, a coordinated operation was immediately launched with the Pula Port Captaincy: captaincy officials set sail for the search, while the maritime police and Coast Guard were put on standby. All vessels in that part of the waters were issued a warning to exercise heightened caution.
After a little over two hours of searching, the three shipwreck survivors were found at 06:48 approximately 12 nautical miles south of Cape Kamenjak, on a raft alongside the damaged yacht. Uninjured, they were boarded onto a rescue vessel and taken to Pula. The yacht was left at the scene of the accident until towing to a safe harbour could be organised, and the Port Captaincy will subsequently investigate the circumstances of the maritime accident.
The same storm during the night caused dozens of groundings of vessels in the areas of Unije, Susak and Lošinj. According to data from the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, sailors were caught by strong gusts of wind and rough seas caused by the passage of a frontal disturbance.
Officials from the Mali Lošinj Port Captaincy visited the affected area and confirmed that there were no injuries or fatalities, and no marine pollution was recorded. Commercial assistance was organised for most of the grounded vessels. Relevant authorities are calling on sailors to exercise additional caution as navigational warnings for the Cape Kamenjak area remain in force while the danger to navigation safety persists.
