Police have performed an incredible late-night rescue in one of the country's most treacherous waters, after a boat ran aground in the Port Phillip Heads overnight. Three men, who were experts at navigating the dangerous passage, were retrieved safe and well after two hours in the water.
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00:00 A victim of the hazards it protects other ships from.
00:05 They're superb vessels, they're very resilient, good sea going vessels, but obviously if you
00:12 hit a rock, that's going to be quite problematic.
00:15 This 17 metre Port Phillips Sea Pilot vessel is a shattered wreck.
00:21 The boat's engine is wedged on the reef, while other sections are being retrieved from where
00:26 they washed ashore after being torn apart in the violent surf.
00:30 Shortly before midnight, the boat hit a reef on its way through the treacherous Port Phillips
00:34 Heads, amid 4 metre swells and 60 kilometre per hour wind gusts.
00:39 The three men on board were stranded on the reef as police were forced to wait for conditions
00:44 to ease.
00:45 Eventually, as the tide changed and it started flooding and it started coming up, then they
00:50 realised that they couldn't stay where they were, so that's when they moved to the life
00:54 raft.
00:55 Efforts to get the men to shore were both difficult and dangerous.
01:00 Police eventually towed the life raft into deeper water and retrieved the trio, after
01:04 they had spent hours in the dangerous waters.
01:06 It was extremely rough, they were having waves over the top of the boat, and the water police
01:13 actually had to stay outside their heads until around 3 o'clock this morning, until it was
01:17 safe to come back inside.
01:19 A fisherman using a nearby pier saw some of the drama unfold in the darkness.
01:23 I don't know how they survived that, they're very lucky if they survived that.
01:27 It's pretty treacherous out there.
01:29 The pilot helps hundreds of ships navigate through a winding passage in Port Phillip
01:33 Bay, through the narrow channel between the heads and out into Bass Strait.
01:38 Last night the boat had collected the pilot from a ship and was returning through the
01:41 heads when it ran aground.
01:43 We're obviously working for the authorities to find out exactly what went wrong, but the
01:47 real focus now is just supporting those guys.
01:50 The heads, also known as the rip, is one of the most treacherous shipping channels in
01:54 the world, making last night's rescue all the more miraculous.
01:57 And while the crew is now safe, last night is a reminder that even the best can come
02:02 unstuck here.
02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]