The US Coastguard rescued four crew members from a disabled yacht off Texas after it began taking on water

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Four crew had to be airlifted to safety by the US Coast Guard after their disabled yacht Special K III began taking on water off the coast of Texas.

An emergency alert was sent to the coast guard at around 8.30am on Tuesday, with a marine broadcast being issued to other boaters shortly after.

Rescue crews from Air Station Houston mounted a search and spotted the 32ft yacht in the Gulf of Mexico, 65 miles off Freeport after those onboard set off flares.

Once on scene, a helicopter rescue basket was used to retrieve the group before they were taken to Scholes International Airport.

No one was injured during the incident and the yacht was later towed back to Freeport by the coast guard Cutter Manta.

Speaking about the rescue, Lt James Rader said: “The flares were a big help because we were flying past their position when we saw the light that alerted us to them.

“The EPIRB also made it much easier for us to know exactly where to begin searching in the first place.”