Three sailors saved off Australia after sharks attack boat

Three sailors were saved from a sinking inflatable catamaran early Wednesday morning after “several shark attacks” left them shipwrecked off the northeastern coast of Australia.

The men — a French citizen and two from Russia — were located by rescuers after their emergency beacon sent out signals of distress at 1:30 a.m. local time, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement.

The sailors, who are between the ages of 28 and 64, departed from the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Tuesday last week and were headed for the northeastern Australian city of Cairns when sharks attacked their ship’s inflatable hulls.

A “large section” of the hull was missing when the 30-foot Russian-registered cataraman was finally located by emergency rescuers, AMSA duty manager Joe Zeller said.

“Both hulls of the vessel have been damaged following several shark attacks,” AMSA said.

“There’s many reasons that vessels are attacked by sharks. However, the motivations of these sharks is unclear,” Zeller said in a video shared by AMSA.

The trek from Vanuatu to Cairns, a journey of more than 1,400 miles, would typically take between two to three weeks, depending on the weather, Zeller noted.

“The three males were very happy to be rescued,” Zeller said, adding that all three were in good health following the tumultuous trip.

The sailors’ identities have not been shared by authorities. They are expected to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday morning.