Two British men seeking to row from Australia to Africa have been rescued from the Indian Ocean off Australia after their boat capsized in rough seas soon after they set out, rescue authorities have said.
Mr Simon Chalk, 29, and Mr Bill Greaves, 41 were rescued by a merchant ship, the Bulk Africa, on Saturday at 4.15 a.m. GMT (5:15 a.m. Irish time) after they were seen clinging to their upturned boat 60 nautical miles off the West Australian coast, Australian Search and Rescue spokesman Ben Mitchell said on Saturday. The rowboat was left to drift.
The duo were picked up from the ship an hour later by an Australian air force helicopter and were being flown to the town of Geraldton, around 350 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia.
The two, both from Newton Abbott in Devon, set out on Thursday in their seven metre row boat, the Elssea, from Kalbarri, around 450 kilometres north of Perth.
They sent out a distress signal late last night saying they were battling four metre high seas and winds blowing to 30 knots.
The rowers aimed to reach Reunion Island off Madagascar in 60 days, trying to beat the record of the only other person to have rowed across the Indian Ocean -- Swede Mr Anders Svedlund who rowed the route solo in 64 days in 1971.
The Britons were the first duo to attempt rowing across the Indian Ocean, according to their website www.rowthatocean.com.