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Distant help for sinking yachtsmen
LONDON, England -- Two yachtsmen whose boat sunk off the coast of Malaysia had their emergency call answered by the English coastguard thousands of miles away. Briton Thomas Jordan and David Rauch from France managed to reach their liferaft after Jordan's 38 ft yacht Blue sank on Monday night. Blue had hit an object while sailing from Lumut to Lankawi on the west coast of Malaysia, the UK Press Association reported. Distress flares and a mayday call to Malaysian authorities went unanswered, so Jordan phoned Falmouth coastguard, in Cornwall, Britain, using a pre-programmed number on his satellite telephone. He was able to give the English coastguard his exact location so they could contact the Malaysian authorities. "They struck an object in the water and sank within about 10 minutes, just enough to get in the life raft," Falmouth Coastguard officer Ken Bazeley told PA. "They were unable to get any attention locally. Knowing we were here they called us and we were able to contact the search and rescue operation out there." The pair were picked up by a passing fishing boat and transferred to a Malaysian marine police craft. Neither were injured in the accident, and have contacted Falmouth Coastguard to thank them for their help. "They were well equipped and well prepared for anything so we just needed to alert the local authorities," Bazeley said.
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