Two Italians were picked up by the Armed Forces yesterday after their yacht caught fire and had to be abandoned some nine miles off Marsalforn.

The AFM received a call for assistance at about 9 a.m.

Without knowing the whereabouts of the distress call, officers aboard an AFM helicopter spotted smoke and, when they got closer, saw “raging flames”.

An AFM Search and Rescue boat, Melita II, sped to the spot and found two Italian men in a dinghy after they escaped the fire.

An AFM rescuer was winched down to check on their condition and to confirm there was no one else trapped on the yacht.

The men were then taken to Haywharf, Sa Maison, where an ambulance from Mater Dei Hospital stood by to give medical assistance.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.