Three men rescued after boat sinks off Shark Island, NSW

Three men were rescued after a vessel sank off Shark Island last night.

About 8pm (Wednesday 10 April 2019), a 12m sloop struck a bombora off Shark Island, Port Stephens, and began to take on water.

The three men on board, aged 70, 63, and 62, put on lifejackets and abandoned the vessel after activating an EPIRB.

They then spent the next 40 minutes swimming to Shark Island, making it safely ashore.

About 9pm, water police were contacted and informed of the EPIRB activation.

Port Stephens Water Police and Marine Rescue NSW were dispatched to the scene.

A rescue helicopter attended and located the men, winching them aboard before taking them to Williamstown RAAF base.

The men were examined by Ambulance Paramedics but suffered only minor scratches.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence.

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