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Family winched to safety from stricken boat

Posted July 4, 2009 12:25:00

A family from Sydney is in hospital after being rescued from their leaking boat in north Queensland.

A man, a woman and a 17-year-old boy were travelling from Sydney to Townsville when the boat lost power and started taking on water near Mackay last night.

A rescue helicopter crew battled strong winds and high seas to winch the three people to safety at about 11:00am.

Phillip Dowler from the CQ rescue helicopter says the three people were flown to the Mackay Base Hospital.

It is not known why the boat lost power.

Tags: accidents, maritime-accidents, qld, mackay-4740

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