Maritime Safety located missing fishermen in North Queensland

MSQ's vessel Aquila and crew found the two men near Flagstaff Bay off the coast of Burdekin, almost 24 hours after they were last heard from on Saturday April 13.

The men were transferred to a waiting helicopter for medical attention and airlifted from Cape Upstart to Ayr Hospital where they were treated for dehydration and hypothermia.

The search was co-ordinated by the Queensland Police Service through Water Police Search and Rescue officers from Townsville. It involved one MSQ vessel, three volunteer Marine Rescue Vessels, two State Emergency Service vessels and one volunteer Coast Guard vessel in a multi-agency response.

To assist the QPS with coordination of the search, Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) tasked 4 helicopters and one dedicated fixed wing search aircraft for search activities throughout the morning and afternoon of 13 April 2024.

The capsized vessel was subsequently recovered by Marine Rescue's Burdekin crew.

This was a very pleasing outcome not only for the two men and their families, but also for all agencies involved in the search and rescue.

Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Kell Dillon said their vessel and two of their marine officers found the two men.

"Nether of the men were wearing life jackets when the vessel capsized and had been clinging to their overturned vessel for about 24 hours, including through the night. They are very, very lucky blokes.

"We are immensely proud of our Townsville MSQ Marine officers for successfully rescuing the two men. They acted incredibly professionally and with courage in very tough circumstances, and without doubt saved the lives of those two men."

Mark Chown was one of the MSQ marine officers looking for the missing men.

"I just happened to get up at 4.20am and saw my phone flash with a missed call from the Water Police, who asked if we could assist the volunteer rescue teams already on water," Mr Chown said.

"We were able to join in the search with Police and volunteer marine rescue units already out searching and fortunately we located the men in the area we were allocated.

"We just consider it part of our responsibility to maritime safety, and if QPS make a request for assistance, we always do our best to provide whatever support they need."