Six people are missing in rough seas after a fishing trawler overturned and sank off the coast of Australia.

The vessel overturned near Middle Island, north of the Town of 1770, in the state of Queensland, on Monday night local time.

The trawler sank at about midnight, around four hours after it had overturned, police said.

A male crew member was found floating in the water at about 7am Tuesday by a passing boat and a massive air and water search was launched to find his six crewmates.

The survivor was reported to be in a stable condition, suffering minor cuts and exposure.


Bad weather is hampering the air and water search for the other six men, with the area receiving almost 140mm of rain in the past 24 hours and being subject to a severe weather warning.