‘Freak wave’ sinks boat: Six kids, two adults plucked from the ocean off Yeppoon late on Christmas Day

With darkness fast approaching and a rain squall descending, eight people including six children clung to their overturned, sinking boat in rough seas after it was hit by a “freak wave” off Yeppoon on Christmas Day.

Yeppoon Rescue One (pictured) went to the aid of an overturned boat north of Rosslyn Bay Harbour on Christmas Day, 2021. File photo.

With darkness fast approaching and a rain squall descending, six children and two adults were plucked from rough seas off Yeppoon late on Christmas Day after a “freak wave” overturned their boat.

At 5.23pm Yeppoon Volunteer Coast Guard got a mayday call about a five-metre fibreglass ski boat that was sinking, about 1km north-east of Rosslyn Bay Harbour.

Coast Guard Deputy Flotilla Commander Rex Kirk said when the four-crew Yeppoon Rescue One vessel (pictured) got to the stricken boat, it was overturned and sinking, and all eight people on board were in the water and hanging onto the side of it.

“It was close to 6pm by the time we were out there, and also a squall came up at the same time so it started to rain and blow,” Mr Kirk said.

“The Coast Guard plucked the six children out of the water and another vessel in the area came to the aid as well - he (that skipper) responded after seeing flares deployed and he took the two adults on board.”

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said one of the adults, a woman in her 40s, was taken to Capricorn Coast Hospital with an ankle injury.

She was in a stable condition.

The QAS spokeswoman said all of the other people retrieved from the water did not require any additional treatment.

Mr Kirk said the woman who was on board was consoling the children.

“Probably four of the children were quite distressed - probably more about losing their mobile phones and all of their personal goods,” Mr Kirk said.

As for what caused the boat to overturn and start sinking, Mr Kirk said he was unaware but a Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said “it was some sort of freak wave that happened.”

Yeppoon Coast Guard and its volunteers operate a crucial community service out of Rosslyn Bay Harbour at Yeppoon. File photo.

Mr Kirk said it was lucky the Coast Guard could get to the stricken boat before dark.

“If it had of been dark, it would have taken us a bit longer to find them - as they were, they were quite low in the water,” he said.

“If it had of been dark, it would have been very difficult to find them.

“The boat was upside down and was sinking.”

Adding to the seriousness of the incident, not all of the eight people in the water were wearing life jackets.

“To my knowledge their were a couple of them that didn’t have life jackets on,” Mr Kirk said.

Mr Kirk said the overturned boat had been recovered and a member of the public had towed it back to Rosslyn Bay Harbour.

“By the time we’d come back (to Rosslyn Bay) it was pouring rain,” he said.

 

Originally published as ‘Freak wave’ sinks boat: Six kids, two adults plucked from the ocean off Yeppoon late on Christmas Day