(Seychelles News Agency) - Twelve French nationals were rescued on Saturday as a result of a joint effort of the Seychelles Coast Guard and the Crystal Cruises ‘Esprit’ yacht, a top official of the Coast Guard said Monday.

Lieutenant Wong Pool from the Seychelles Coast Guard told SNA, “We received a call from Esprit at around midnight on Friday 17, informing us that El Diablo was in distress close to Praslin.”

Three children and nine adults were onboard the catamaran, which according to the Travel Daily Media, was dragged from its mooring buoy and ran aground close to the shore. The area was experiencing extremely bad weather which caused excessive damage to the catamaran, which those onboard had to abandon.

Pool said, “We deployed our own ships to assist. From what I am aware, there were no injuries.”

The crew of Crystal Esprit and the Seychelles Coast Guard operated in darkness and heavy rain but was able to carry out the rescue operation.

Pool also revealed that the distressed ship El Diablo has sunk and the owner was making arrangements to have the ship removed.

Crystal Esprit departed for Aride, the northernmost granitic island of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean on Saturday as planned. The rescued passengers from the catamaran were transferred to Praslin, the second-most populated island of the archipelago.

Crystal Esprit is part of the global hospitality and leisure company -- Genting Hong Kong (GHK) which acquired Crystal Cruises, and was launched in December 2015 as the brand expanded from its fleet of two luxury cruise ships into yachting.