WA trio swim to safety after boat swamped

Three people are being treated for cuts and bruises after their boat overturned off the West Australian coast, forcing them to swim to shore.

A man and a woman aged in their 30s and a man in his 70s were fishing off Jurien Bay, north of Perth, on Thursday morning when their dinghy was swamped by a large wave, overturning the boat and throwing them into the water.

The trio swam back to the boat and fired a flare but due to the windy conditions, the smoke blew away.

They were able to activate their emergency position-indicating radio beacon after it surfaced.

The boat drifted towards the beach and the three swam to shore, where they were picked up by Department of Fisheries staff on quad bikes as the terrain was unsuitable for a 4WD vehicle.