light from mobile phone saves sinking fishermen

[Haz]

luckily the light from their mobile phones was enough to save their lives, they really should have bought along some flashlights.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24595482-1702,00.html

TWO fishermen in a sinking boat used the light from a mobile phone to alert their rescuers off the Northern Territory coast, police say.
The pair became stranded in the Gunn Reef area, in the Beagle Gulf between Darwin and the Tiwi Islands.

They made a distress call to police about 8pm (CST) yesterday.

Officers arrived in the area a few hours hours later and started scouring the sea between Gunn Reef and South West Vernon Island.

About midnight, they located the owner of the boat and his 39-year-old passenger about 200 metres from the channel edge.

Police said the occupants of the 4.5-metre vessel, which was taking on water, alerted rescuers to their exact location by flashing the screen of a mobile phone.

The boat did not have an anchor and life jackets were the only safety equipment on board, police said.

The 26-year-old owner of the boat will now be summonsed to appear in court for failing to carry safety equipment.

 

[PhotonBoy]

I didn't enjoy Boy Scouts but their motto "Be Prepared" is worth the cost of membership.

 

[Lightraven]

The light certainly helped, but as usual in these cases, it was the distress call that started the search. No distress call, no search, bad news.

Anybody with any sense will have a handheld marine band radio and know their position (ideally with GPS) on the water. All the lights in the world won't bring the Coast Guard out if they are in.