[Mr.Buttocks]

[quote:5da59]Emergency services in Australia have launched a search for the three-man crew of a yacht found drifting off the North Queensland coast.

[img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42824000/jpg/_42824647_kaz_police203.jpg[/img]

The vessel was found with its engine running, and a table laid for dinner, but there were no signs of any people.

An air and sea rescue operation has been launched to retrace the yacht's voyage, and pinpoint the search area.

The three-crew members are thought to have set sail for Townsville from Airlie Beach on Sunday.

The 12m (40 foot) catamaran was spotted by a helicopter on Wednesday, but a rescue team only reached the boat on Friday, and confirmed that there was no one aboard.

Rescue crews say they are puzzled by the mysterious disappearance.

"The engine was running, the computers were running, there was a laptop set up on the table which was running, the radio was working... and there was food and utensils set on the table ready to eat," said Jon Hall, a spokesman for Queensland's Emergency Management office.

"It was a bit strange," he added.

All the vessel's sails were up, although one was badly shredded, and lifejackets were still on board.

Mr Hall said rescue workers had recovered the boat's global position system (GPS) device, which might give them more clues as to the crew's whereabouts.

"That will now enable us to track backwards where this yacht has actually been in the last few days, and we're hoping that can pinpoint the search area for the missing crew," he said.

Twelve aircraft are now searching for the crew of the boat which is already being dubbed "the ghost yacht".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 574547.stm[/quote:5da59]


WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON DOWN UNDER??????????????????????????????????