Three men 'minutes from death' after clinging to overturned boat
A frantic mobile phone call for help has saved the lives of three men, whose boat began to sink off the WA coast.
Rescuers say the three men, Lance Rock, 79, Ken Devereux, 78, and Joe Butis, 56, were just minutes from drowning in appalling sea conditions off the Mandurah coast.
The trio had been out pulling in crayfish pots on Tuesday morning when the boat overturned.
Luckily for the group, who weren't wearing life jackets, one of the men made a quick phone call for help before they went into the water.
The three men were then forced to cling on to the overturned boat until rescue crews could arrive.
Two of the men spent close to 45 minutes in the water while a third man straddled the propeller.
Sea rescue crews say the group were battling 60km/h winds and 2.5m swells.
"They were very lucky but they were also very stupid to go out in conditions like this with no life jackets," Peel Water Police Acting senior sergeant Troy Pillage said.
Two of the men were taken to hospital suffering hypothermia, while the third man was treated at the scene.
The rescue comes just one day after a man died after being struck by a boat, and 11 people escaped into a dinghy as their $250,000 luxury cruiser crashed into rocks, both at Rottnest Island.
Authorities are pleading for anyone heading out over the festive period to make sure they have the right safety equipment onboard, in case of emergency.
