AUSTRALIA:A COMMERCIAL fisherman who swam for 12 hours to shore to raise the alarm after his trawler sank has been hailed as a hero in Australia. Michael Williams (39) made the 13km (eight miles) swim to a beach near Byron Bay and sparked an air search for his two crewmates.
Fellow crewman John Jarrett (41) was found at sea clinging to a fish cooler lid that had kept him afloat for 30 hours.
The search for skipper Charlie Picton (40) was called off.
Mr Jarrett's sister, Rosemary Jarrett, said yesterday that all three men had initially clung to flotsam after their shrimp trawler capsized and sank before dawn on Friday. Ms Jarrett told Nine Network TV: "JJ said: 'We'll be out here for at least three days because no one knows we're here,' so brave Michael swam all the way to shore. He's my hero. He's all our hero," she said.
Mr Williams, recovering in hospital, declined media requests for interviews. -