RAF rescues doomed trawler's crew

An RAF Sea King rescue helicopter was used

An RAF helicopter has rescued 13 crew members of a sinking Spanish trawler 200 miles off Cornwall's coast.

The crew of the British-registered boat, the Zorro Zaure, sent out a distress signal when it began taking in water at around 0230GMT on Thursday, a Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said.

It was a race against time

Steve Huxley, coastguard

It was still afloat when the RAF Sea King rescue helicopter arrived at the scene and airlifted the crew to safety, at about 0700GMT.

The trawler's skipper estimated it was within 30 to 40 minutes of sinking when the rescue took place.

Ferocious winds, heavy seas and a nine-foot swell made the rescue operation very dangerous, coastguards said.

Falmouth Coastguard duty district officer Steve Huxley said: "It was a race against time.

"The weather conditions worsened through the night and obviously being 200 nautical miles from Lands End presents us with logistical problems as well."

Radio alert

The helicopter, from the RAF Chivenor base in Devon, was near the limit of its flying range when it arrived at the scene, and had just an hour in which to complete the rescue.

It was supported by a Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft from RAF Kinloss in Scotland, which was able to quickly pinpoint the location of the stricken vessel.

The crew of the trawler said they were preparing to take to their lifeboat when they issued their mayday call.

Hearing the distress signal, another boat in the area started heading towards her.

But Falmouth coastguards were quickly alerted to the emergency by Radio Valencia in Ireland, which picked up the signal.

After the rescue, the helicopter headed back towards Cornwall. It was due to land the rescued crew at the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose.