Rescue bid to airlift yacht crew

A huge operation involving British and American aeroplanes was launched today to try to rescue the crew of a stricken yacht.

Air crews were attempting to lift the two crew members, one of whom is believed to be seriously injured, from the vessel in the Atlantic Ocean.

Britain's Clyde Coastguard said it received a mayday signal from the yacht just after 8pm yesterday, when it was 320 miles north west of Stornoway, in the Outer Hebrides.

The vessel is being towed towards Iceland by a nearby Norwegian fishing vessel that responded to the signal.

But two Pave Hawk helicopters from a US military base in Keflavik, Iceland were also at the scene to try to airlift the two crew.

A British coastguard spokeswoman said the craft, named Orbit Two, had lost its mast in fierce weather and was unable to raise a signal so an RAF Nimrod plane had initially been sent out to investigate the incident.

She said: "They are going to try to lift the two persons off the yacht but the weather is pretty bad just now. They have been taking on a lot of water.

"Because of the lack of direct communications with coastguards, we don’t even know where the vessel was from or where it was heading to."

A Hercules plane from the US base is also being used to refuel the Nimrod craft in mid-flight.