Three men survived four hours floating in rough seas off the north west Australia coast after their boat collided with a whale and sank.
A police spokeswoman said the men were travelling on the 14-metre vessel from Port Samson to Geraldton, about eight kilometres west of the Exmouth peninsula, when they hit the large mammal about 11.30pm and began to sink.
The men, a 47-year-old, his 22-year-old son and a 48-year-old friend, made a mayday call and activated an emergency EPIRB radio beacon.
W.A. police said the men were on a 46-foot wooden boat off Western Australia state when their boat struck something hard.
The police also said they were lucky to be wearing life jackets at the time because the trio were not strong swimmers.Senior Sergeant Greg Trew said the men suspected it was a whale and abandoned ship.
They set off an emergency beacon and an oil rig crew picked them up about four hours later.
The men have been taken to Exmouth.
