Three Austrian citizens were rescued early on Sunday morning in a search and rescue operation near Cape Kamenjak, after their yacht suffered damage in a storm that hit the northern Adriatic during the night. The shipwrecked individuals were found uninjured on a life raft, Novi list reports.
The National Coordination Centre for Search and Rescue at Sea (MRCC Rijeka) received the distress call at 4.44. Due to poor visibility and difficult communication, a coordinated operation was immediately launched with the Pula Harbour Master’s Office: officials from the harbour master’s office set sail, 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 increased caution.
After a little over two hours of searching, the three shipwrecked individuals were found at 6.48 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 Harbour Master’s Office will subsequently conduct an investigation to determine the circumstances of the maritime accident.
The same storm during the night caused dozens of groundings of vessels in the Unija, Susak and Lošinj areas. According to data from the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, sailors were caught by strong wind gusts and rough seas caused by the passage of a frontal disturbance.
Officials from the Mali Lošinj Harbour Master’s Office 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. Competent authorities are calling on sailors to exercise extra caution, as navigational warnings for the Cape Kamenjak area remain in force while the danger to navigation safety persists.
