LISBON, Portugal -- The Portuguese Navy says three Britons have been rescued in the Atlantic after their yacht collided with a whale and started to sink.

A statement says the three passengers aged between 41 and 61 were picked up by a merchant vessel around 410 miles northeast of Portugal's mid-Atlantic Azores Islands on Sunday.

Portuguese rescue services sent a Navy corvette and two planes after receiving a distress signal from the U.K.-registered yacht Destiny of Scarborough. However, the statement Monday said the merchant ship was closer to the sinking yacht.

Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox

The ship took the men to the northern Spanish port of Aviles. The statement said they did not require medical assistance. It did not provide their names.