THREE US fishermen adrift aboard their disabled vessel for roughly 30 hours have been rescued in the Bahamas.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew picked up the fishermen about 16 miles east of Crooked Island today.

The Coast Guard says the men's 34-foot pleasure craft became damaged in bad weather and rough waves during a voyage to Long Island, from Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Officials say the men were adrift before they activated a rescue beacon late Monday. When the men heard the Coast Guard helicopter, they set off a flare to help the crew pinpoint their location.

The men were taken back to Providenciales.

Coast Guard officials called the incident "a perfect rescue" because the men had equipment to alert crews to their location.