Three people on board a catamaran in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia have been rescued after the hulls of the vessel became damaged from several shark attacks, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said on Wednesday.
Satellite photos and a video on the AMSA website showed a large poart of the stern of the yacht torn away.
"The vessel departed from Vanuatu and was bound for Cairns (Australia) when contact was established. Both hulls of the vessel have been damaged following several shark attacks," the AMSA said in a statement.
Rescue crews responded to an emergency positioning beacon registered to the Tion, a nine-metre inflatable catamaran, early on Wednesday morning. The yacht was located about 835 km southeast of Cairns in the Coral Sea.
AMSA requested the assistance of a Panama-flagged vehicle carrier, which successfully conducted the rescue.
The three passengers - two Russian and one French citizen - are due to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday, AMSA said.
Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in a landmark emergency ruling on South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide.
Twenty people who were aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence and diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing on Tuesday remain in intensive care. Others are being treated for spinal cord and brain injuries.
A two-storey restaurant building collapsed on the beach in Palma de Mallorca killing at least four people and injuring 16 people in the tourism hot spot in Spain's Balearic Islands.
Israeli forces killed 35 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardments across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and battled in close combat with Hamas in areas of the southern city of Rafah, health officials and Hamas media said.