A major rescue operation swung into action this evening to rescue 11 people, believed to be elderly, stranded aboard a boat when its engine cut out.

East Anglian Daily Times: Passengers were rescued from a beached ship at lowestoft Picture: UK COASTGUARDPassengers were rescued from a beached ship at lowestoft Picture: UK COASTGUARD (Image: Archant)

A major rescue operation was launched to rescue 11 elderly people stranded aboard a boat when its engine cut out on the Broads in Suffolk.

Police, fire and the coastguard were called to the incident in Caldecott Road, Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft,

The boat, described by on-call fireman Ian Carter as a ‘day cruiser’, lost engine power and alerted the Lowestoft Coastguard for help at about 4.45pm on Friday.

Three firecrews were sent to the scene from North Lowestoft and Lowestoft South at about 5.45pm.

East Anglian Daily Times: Thankfulyl all passengers were rescued and returned to dry land safely Picture: UK COASTGUARDThankfulyl all passengers were rescued and returned to dry land safely Picture: UK COASTGUARD (Image: Archant)

Suffolk Fire and Rescue also sent a Unimog – a larger truck with tracked tyres to assist in the rescue operation.

The coastguard and police were also in attendance, with officers closing nearby Caldecott Road to allow rescuers to work at the scene.

Police say rescuers had to cut railings at the side of Caldecott Road to allow them to bring people ashore, Suffolk fire also sent two dinghies to assist the coastguard.

All the passengers were returned to dry land safely.