Two New Zealand sailors and their Mexican skipper have been rescued from a liferaft south of Niue after a fire in the engine compartment engulfed their yacht.
The 15-metre Sunny Deck was travelling from Rarotonga to Tonga when the alarm was raised via a marine rescue centre in Germany.
The sailors were found when the crew of a container ship, Cap Capricorn, spotted a distress flare early this morning.
The New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre says it was an excellent piece of seamanship to bring a 228-metre container ship alongside a liferaft in poor conditions.
