As no alarm or announcement had been given that the ship was in trouble, several passengers went to the bridge to look for the crew, only to find it unmanned. Moss Hills then used the radio phone to broadcast a mayday distress call until a ship answered. Of the sixteen rescue helicopters that came out to the ship, thirteen were South African Air Force (SAAF) Pumas, nine of which hoisted 225 passengers off the deck. They were assisted by the lifeboats of the Dutch cargo ship "Nedlloyd Mauritius", which had responded to the distress call.