Drifting sailor rescued off Tasmania

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HOBART, Australia, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A French sailor who had been drifting on a life raft in the Southern Ocean off the coast of the Australian island Tasmania was rescued Sunday, officials said.

Sailor Alain Delord was picked up by the cruise ship Orion, the BBC reported.

Delord, 63, was attempting to make a solo round-the-world voyage in a yacht when mast on his vessel broke Friday, forcing him to abandon it, a spokesman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority told the BBC.

The Orion was making its way back to Australia from the Antarctic when it answered Delord's distress call, changing its course to pick up the sailor.

Delord appeared to be uninjured following his three-day ordeal, officials said.