MIRACLE

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Crew of abandoned yacht back home

The crew of the "Miracle" was flown out of Shetland to return to their native Poland on June 3 after their lucky escape after their vessel burst into flames in the North Atlantic. The nine sailors were forced to abandon their boat on June 2. Smoke had started billowing out of the ship’s mess on the port side, before the boat erupted into flames. Due to the amount of carbon monoxide the skipper ordered the crew to go on deck. Their efforts to extinguish the blaze failed, so they were forced to launch the liferaft and send out a Mayday call on VHF radio after abandoning the vessel due to concern the fire might spread to the fuel tank.. As the seven men and two women struggled for breath with the fumes, skipper Matusz Cwiklinske ordered them above deck and then launched the boat’s liferaft into rough seas fearing an explosion. The crew was later picked up by the "REM Gambler" after the Shetland Coastguard received a Mayday signal from Miracle at 9.20 a.m. and spent the night in Lerwick. The Shetland Coastguard launched their search and rescue helicopter and Aith lifeboat to attend the scene 50 miles south west of the islands. The helicopter crew captured footage of the abandoned vessel on fire, while the lifeboat turned back once they realised the crew were safe on the "REM Gambler" which delivered the nine, who were shocked but uninjured, safely to Scalloway harbour around 6 p.m. where they were met by officers from the coastguard and police, as well as representatives of the Red Cross and the Fishermen’s Mission.

Miracle lost in explosion - crew safe

The offshore vessel “REM Gambler”(IMO-Nr.: 9447964), saved the crew of nine in the Northsea after the “Miracle” burst into flames following an explosion on board on June 2, 2016, at 9.20 a.m. about 50 miles south-west of Shetland. The crew from Poland was drifting in a life raft after abandoning their vessel when it was consumed by flames. The sailors emerged unscathed from the inferno as the “REM Gambler” was seven miles away and had picked up the distress call which had been received by the UK Coastguard which broadcast a Mayday requesting assistance for the vessel. They set full speed for the yacht and could see the flames and the smoke, getting hold of the guys in the life raft, who had a radio with them, and after an hour. The ship lifted the life raft onto the vessel and picked up the seven men and two women from their tiny craft that had been bouncing in strong northerly winds. The “REM Gambler” arrived off Shetland after 6 p.m. and the castaways boarded the Scalloway harbour pilot boat “Lyrie” which took them ashore, while the “REM Gambler” continued on its journey to the Schiehallion field west of Shetland. The Aith lifeboat was also launched from Shetland’s west coast, but turned around halfway to the scene after it became apparent the crew were safe and well and no one had been injured. Once ashore they were met by a team of Coastguard and police officers as well as by members of the local Red Cross team and the Fishermen’s Mission. The officers were interviewing the crew to find out what happened on board and to ensure they were all safe and well. Throughout the day Shetland Islands Council had been working to establish emergency accommodation for the homeless crew. The “Miracle” had set off from Bergen in Norway on a trip that first took them across the North Sea to Lerwick harbour where they stayed for two days to recuperate from a rough crossing. On June 1 in the evening they set off for Torshavn in the Faroe Islands, but the next morning they were south west of Shetland having been blown off their course by the strengthening winds. When the blaze took hold and the alert went out, Shetland Coastguard immediately launched the search and rescue helicopter from Sumburgh, which managed to capture video footage of the abandoned yacht ablaze in the middle of the ocean. Reports with photos and video: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/islands/shetland/936299/nien-rescued-terrifying-yacht-rescue/ http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/12820-polish-crew-safe-ashore-after-boat-blaze http://www.pbo.co.uk/news/nine-people-rescued-yacht-catches-fire-31811 http://stv.tv/news/north/1356165-nine-rescued-from-liferaft-after-abandoning-sailing-boat/