Philippine Coast Guard rescues foreign nationals from disabled yacht

The Philippine Coast Guard has successfully rescued four foreign nationals from a sailing yacht that had gone adrift after becoming disabled off the Philippines' Catanduanes province late last week.

The coast guard said the yacht Nora Simrad went adrift off Catanduanes' Virac municipality after it suffered a broken rudder on Saturday, May 17.

The yacht's occupants sent out a distress call, which then prompted the coast guard to request assistance from partner agencies.

A Philippine Air Force aircraft was deployed to the yacht's last reported position, as the area was experiencing limited visibility and radio communication with the distressed vessel was intermittent.

After the aircraft located the yacht, a civilian tug headed for the latter's location with an embarked team of coast guard personnel including nurses.

The yacht was later towed to Virac Port. All four of the yacht's occupants, who have been identified as Norwegian nationals, were assessed by coast guard medical personnel and are reported to be in good health.

Nora Simrad is operated by Wicked Horizon, an Oslo-based company specialising in expedition sailing cruises.