Rescue off Tonga

12/06/2005 13:11:01 Two female crew members have been plucked from a yacht caught in a storm, south of Tonga. An Airforce Orion was sent up to check on the 'Bird of Passage' after the Rescue Co-ordination Centre was advised an emergency beacon had gone off. Mission controller Neville Blakemore says the yacht had been sheltering at the North Minerva Reef, but the Orion found the yacht dragging anchor and without a mast or communications. Mr Blakemore says the sea conditions are still horrendous, with 50 knot (93 km/hr) winds and 8 metre seas. Mr Blakemore says the women have been taken onboard another yacht which is still sheltering at the reef.