The crew of the yacht were in their liferaft for six hours

The ferry picked up three women and two men from an inflatable liferaft during Wednesday evening's sailing from Poole to Guernsey.

They had been floating for six hours after their 47-foot yacht, The Wahkuna, sank while returning to the UK from Dielette.

The ferry brought the survivors to Guernsey for a check-up at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital before they were taken back to Poole.

Poor visibility

The liferaft was spotted about 25 miles south east of Portland in Dorset after the yacht's crew fired a red flare into the air.

It loomed out of the fog, they took avoiding action, but it took 10 feet off their bow and they sank Jan Milner, Condor general manager

The Condor Express skipper, Adrian Whinney, launched the rescue boat and called the coastguard and French authorities.

Condor general manager Jan Milner said the yacht was crossing the shipping lanes when it was struck by the container ship.

"They saw the ship on their radar, as visibility was very poor, and moved to avoid it, but they think it might have changed course.

Launched inquiry

"It loomed out of the fog, they took avoiding action, but it took 10 feet off their bow and they sank."

The Maritime Accident Investigation Board has launched an inquiry into how the accident happened and why the ship, believed to be Liberian registered, failed to stop.

The yacht's skipper, retired solicitor Michael Dresden, said he and his crew were lucky to be alive.