Shortly after 11 pm last night the Icelandic Coast Guard got an emergency call from a German yacht 17 nautical miles (31 km) west of Reykjanes peninsula. There were 12 people onboard, including four crew members and eight young passengers when the yacht started to leak in high winds and waves of up to 12 meters (40 ft).
The yacht. Photo from visir.is.
Due to the difficult weather conditions, it took time for the rescue team to get onboard and it was not until 2 am that the passengers were safe in the rescue boat, Einar Sigurjónsson, just in time before the German yacht sank.
According to visir.is, the rescue team were surprised by how unprepared for the cool North Atlantic weather the boat passengers were.
The rescued individuals were brought to the town of Sandgerði where they were met by representatives of the German embassy.
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