The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) coordinated the search that found nine people drifting toward an island on their dinghy north of Australia, close to Papua New Guinea, after it detected an emergency beacon registered to them.
The group advised rescuers of a second dinghy with three more people, and a Navy ship and police vessel were diverted to find the others.
“It also helped that the beacon was correctly registered. From the beacon registration information, JRCC Australia was able to get early information about the number of boats and people to plan an appropriate rescue response,” the AMSA said.
Read more here:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-26/twelve-people-rescued-from-waters-off-horn-island-torres-strait/6807078