NSW: Search resumes for five off NSW south coast

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-1998
NSW: Search resumes for five off NSW south coast

SYDNEY, Dec 6 AAP - Emergency crews have resumed the search for a raft with five people on
board off the New South Wales south coast.

Moruya Coastal Patrol and a Tasmanian bound yacht received a mayday call at 4.30pm
yesterday but no further contact had been made, a police spokesman said.

He said emergency crews were mystified by the call, which said only that the crew were
boarding a liferaft and activating a satellite beacon six nautical miles south east off
Moruya.

They had not indicated what kind of trouble they were in or what type of vessel they were
abandoning.

Batemans Bay water police, Coastal Patrol boats from Narooma, Batemans Bay and Moruya, and
a rescue helicopter from Canberra searched an area between Moruya and Narooma until 11.30pm,
but were unable to find the unidentified vessel, he said.

This morning a Police plane was called in to assist in the search but emergency crews had
been unable to pick up the satellite signal although weather conditions were good, he said.

He said the beacon may have malfunctioned or not been turned on.

AAP rat/cjh

KEYWORD: RAFT DAYLEAD

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