Eight Danes rescued as sailboat capsizes in Pacific after colliding with whale

The crew took refuge on a raft and called for help via a satellite phone.

Eight Danes whose sailboat capsized in the Pacific Ocean following a collision with one or two whales were rescued overnight, the Danish Armed Forces said in a statement on Thursday.

Danish forces said the crew was found by a fishing vessel and eventually transferred to a container ship. (AP/Representative)

After abandoning the sailboat, the crew took refuge on a raft and called for help via a satellite phone, prompting a search and rescue mission by the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The initial satellite call was made by a female crew member to her father in Denmark, who contacted Danish rescue authorities before the case was transferred to JRCC Honolulu.

They were later found by a fishing vessel and eventually transferred to a container ship which is now headed for Tahiti, the Danish Armed Forces said.

Information from the crew indicated that the 51-foot long sailboat had collided with one or two whales, the military said.