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U.S. helicopters rescue yacht crew

LONDON, England -- Two injured crew members have been rescued from a stricken yacht in the Atlantic Ocean by American long-range military helicopters.

The two helicopters, known as Jolly Green Giants, hovered above the 65-foot (20-metre) yacht Persuader for more than two hours on Wednesday attempting to winch the man and woman from the vessel.

A coast guard spokesman told Reuters: "It was an extremely difficult operation. Without long-range helicopters, this rescue wouldn't have been possible."

The Guernsey-registered yacht ran into trouble some 480 miles (770 kilometres) off Land's End in southwest England when it rolled 360 degrees after being battered by gale force winds and 25-foot (7.5-metre) waves.

Coast guards were alerted when the yacht's emergency beacon began transmitting on Tuesday. They later established the beacon had fallen overboard when the vessel lost its mast and had a hole knocked in it by the heavy winds and waves.

The yacht was too far away for a rescue by British Royal Air Force helicopters so coast guards called in the U.S. Airforce CH-3E helicopters, based at Mildenhall, in Suffolk, eastern England.

The helicopters reached the yacht after a four-hour flight and a mid-air refuelling from a Hercules plane, the spokesman said.

Five remain on board

Medical advice was given via radio to the yacht's skipper about how to treat the two injured crew members, who suffered suspected broken ribs and internal injuries.

The rescuers returned to the southwestern-most tip of the British mainland just after 0900 GMT and the injured pair were immediately taken to hospital.

Persuader was sailing from the Caribbean to Britain with seven people on board. The other five members remained on the vessel and will continue on to Britain.

Coast guard spokeswoman, Rosalyne Skeffington, told The Associated Press the remaining crew members were being monitored as they made for land at a speed of five knots.

Sikorsky CH-3E helicopters, which have a range of 779 miles (1,246 kilometres), were dubbed Jolly Green Giants by American soldiers during the Vietnam War, when they were used to undertake rescue missions in northern Vietnam and Laos.