Yachtsmen airlifted to safety

Two men have been airlifted from their stricken yacht after an international rescue bid in the North Atlantic.

The crew, one of whom was seriously injured, were rescued 375 miles north-west of Stornoway, UK, at 9am after an overnight operation involving American and British air forces.

The injured sailor was believed to have a broken leg and internal injuries.

He and his crewmate, both thought to be Canadians, were being taken to Iceland for treatment after being lifted by a US Sea Hawk helicopter.

British coastguards said a mayday signal from American-registered Orbit II was received just after 8pm yesterday.

A Nimrod long-distance plane was scrambled from RAF Kinloss and found the yacht, which had lost its mast and was taking in water as its position was fixed through an emergency beacon transmission.

A Norwegian trawler which was towing the yacht to Iceland after responding to the emergency signal stabilised the craft during the operation.

Staff at RAF Kinloss said there had been no verbal contact with the crew of the vessel because of damage to its radio equipment.

A spokesman said: "We have had no update about the injured man but we can assume that means he has not deteriorated since being airlifted onto the helicopter."

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