'Lucky' fisherman rescued, two missing

A stroke of luck likened to "winning the lotto 100 times over" has saved the life of
a fisherman in cyclone-whipped seas off the central Queensland coast.
But grave fears are held for his two colleagues who remain missing after their
trawler rolled repeatedly on Monday in six-metre swells generated by Cyclone Hamish.
The MBC trawler was located on Tuesday afternoon, more than 24 hours after it
capsized, but there was no sign of skipper Russell Palmer and experienced crewman
Tony Tyndall.
As the search for them continues, rescuers are marvelling at James Palmer's great
escape.
The skipper's 20-year-old nephew was plucked from the sea on Tuesday morning, after
an entire day and night in the churning sea.
Rescue crewman Darren Bobin said the young fisherman would have been lost had it not
been for an incredible stroke of luck that saw an emergency beacon washed to within
his grasp.
"The cyclone came through and capsized the vessel, and it rolled a number of times,"
said Mr Bobin, of CQ Rescue, Central Queensland's rescue authority.
"This man (James Palmer) jumped into a life raft, which was at the back of the boat.
The life raft rolled and he was thrown into the water."
Mr Bobin said Mr Palmer had the forethought to grab an emergency beacon and put on a
life jacket but when he landed in the water he lost hold of the beacon before he
could activate it.
But the beacon floated back towards him and he grabbed it and activated it.
"It's like winning the lotto 100 times over," Mr Bobin said.
An Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) plane located Mr Palmer and dropped a
life raft to him before a chopper winched him to safety about 9.40am (AEST) at
Swains Reef, 165 nautical miles east of Rockhampton.
Mr Bobin said Mr Palmer's first words to his rescuers were: "Hello, my name is
James". He is in a stable condition in Rockhampton Hospital.
AMSA said it located the trawler later in the day about 210km off the coast of
Yeppoon, close to where an emergency beacon was activated.
But a rescue crewman lowered aboard found no trace of the missing men.
Stephen Murphy, whose boat the Somantina aided the search, said he understood why
the fishermen were out in a cyclone.
"They (cyclones) are just so unpredictable," he said.
"The chances of one starting up in Cairns and coming all the way to Hervey Bay is
pretty slim.
"The idea was to just anchor up and wait for the cyclone to hit land but it just
kept on coming.
"By the point where they realised it was going to come reasonably close to them it
was sort of too late to move by then."
AMSA spokeswoman Tracey Jiggins said authorities had not given up hope of finding
the missing two men.
"We have to continue searching until we are absolutely satisfied that there are no
survivors," she said.
Medical survival expert Dr Jeff Brock said that if the men had been knocked
overboard without flotation devices, they would face a tough battle to stay afloat
and not take in water.
A search involving three aircraft will continue on Tuesday night.