Sailors found after wife calls emergency

LONDON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The Spanish coast guard found two sailors after a boat owner's wife called emergency services in London, officials said.

Louise Patel said she called the emergency number 999 from her London home after she hadn't heard from her husband, Jayesh, for more than 24 hours, The Daily Mail reported Friday.

Patel said she had last heard from her husband and his friend, a Belgian whose name was not released, when they reported rough waters during their journey from Majorca, an island off Spain, to the mainland Spanish port in Tarragona in Jayesh Patel's 44-foot motorboat.

Louise Patel was put in contact with the Thames Coastguard, which passed the information on to the International Coastguard Liaison Station in Falmouth, England.

The station alerted the Spanish coast guard, which deployed ships, helicopters and Spanish air force jets to find the missing sailors.

Spanish authorities said the pair were found adrift in a life raft 60 hours after they had been reported missing. The sailors said their boat had capsized in rough waters.

"I owe my life to my wife's alertness and to the coastguards in Britain and Spain," Jayesh Patel said. "When I got home I got a hug -- and a kick. There are lessons to be learned but it hasn't put me off sailing."