Three divers have their lucky stars and the four-man crew of an Armed Forces of Malta helicopter to thank after they were plucked from rough seas off Id-Dwejra, in Gozo yesterday afternoon.

The army said it received a call for assistance when the three divers, an Englishman and two Germans, were unable to swim back to shore after a dive at Id-Dwejra. The army reported "very rough sea conditions" at the time.

It said an attempt by members of the Civil Protection to rescue the divers failed and it was at that stage that the assistance of a helicopter was requested. The army said that according to reports one of the three divers had jumped in to assist the other two but he too found himself in difficulties.

An Alouette helicopter was deployed and all three divers were winched to safety "in a relatively short time".

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