File photoFile photo

An AFM rescue launch late yesterday towed a yacht to safety after it was seen drifting towards rocks off Marsascala.

The alarm was raised just before 10 p.m. by an off-duty AFM soldier who, while at a barbeque, noticed that the motor yacht was in distress off the former Jerma Palace Hotel.

The AFM Operations Centre immediately dispatched the Search and Rescue Launch Melita II.

The AFM said the yacht had suffered engine trouble and was drifting towards the rocks. There was only one man on board.

It said the rescue launch arrived in the nick of time and managed to pull the vessel to safety despite a force six wind and rough seas.

The operation ended at 1130 p.m. No one was injured.

Picture: Justin Gatt / AFM Press Office

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