Tasmanian man rescued at sea after dramatic police and volunteer operation

April 28, 2022

A 67-year-old Tasmanian fisherman has been rescued after a dramatic police and volunteer operation at sea overnight.

Tasmania Police say they received a notification from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority at around 10.20pm, indicating that a distress beacon had been activated from a vessel off the coast of Seymour.

A search commenced with the assistance of Tasmania Police and Marine Rescue Volunteers from St Helens.

“The man’s position was determined to be north of Seymour some 500m off the coast,” Tasmania Police said in a statement this morning.

Sea and weather conditions prevented several attempts by rescuers to get to the 67-year-old Lefroy ma

Police say aircraft could not be brought in to search in the area due to poor weather and low cloud.

“A nearby fishing vessel attempted to rescue the man around 1am without success,” Police said.

“A second attempt was then made by St Helens Volunteer Marine Rescue members and Tasmania Police.

“Around 3am this morning the man was pulled from his stricken vessel sustaining injuries to his ribs in the process.”

He was returned to Bicheno where an ambulance crew tended to his injuries.

“It is understood the man got into difficulty due to the strong swell and stormy conditions being pushed towards the shoreline and unable to use his motor to push the motor sailor away from danger,” Police said.