Three men on board a 11.5m yacht have had a lucky escape in wild seas after inadvertently being caught in the overnight extreme weather off Jurien Bay in WA’s north-west.

The trio left Carnarvon for Perth on Monday but decided to head to Jurien Bay after fuel issues and had to be rescued in the dangerous conditions after AMSA search aircraft located their vessel 5km from the town.

“They ended up being caught up in the severe weather, the yacht had rolled over and managed to right itself, it snapped a mast… they were pretty much stricken at sea from then on,” Marine Rescue Jurien Bay bosun Mike Cockburn told Gareth Parker on 6PR Breakfast.

Two of the crew were transported to a life raft but the elderly member of the trio was stuck on the yacht in 5m seas, jumping overboard to a life ring in pitch dark. The yacht is still adrift and may wash ashore later today.

Press PLAY to hear full details of the dangerous rescue