The Pacific Princess cruise ship turned around Saturday in the North Sea to rescue three men in a lifeboat who had sent up a flare, according to an Associated Press journalist onboard the ship. Two other men from their capsized fishing boat were still missing.
The captain announced to the passengers that the ship, which was heading back to Dover after an eight-day cruise around the British Isles, was changing its course to rescue the men, who were floating in a black lifeboat with an orange cover, journalist Diana Heidgerd reported.
She said the rescue took place late Saturday afternoon in 6-foot (1.8-meter) seas off the coast of Norwich. Authorities on the ship maneuvered close to the lifeboat and pulled the men aboard.
Ship authorities would not comment on the identities or condition of the rescued men but said the U.K. coast guard had been notified.
Passengers saw a coast guard helicopter searching the water Saturday night for two missing crew members from a fishing boat that authorities said had capsized.
