Three people have reportedly been rescued from the life raft, spotted almost 100 nautical miles off WA's south coast.
Sky News has reported they have been taken to hospital to undergo medical examination. Their identities remain unknown.
Boats and a helicopter were sent to rescue people believed to be on a liferaft off the southwest coast of Western Australia after an emergency beacon was activated.
The beacon was set off about 7am (WST) on Monday and an aircraft was despatched to the area about 93 nautical miles southeast of Esperance, WA police said.
Orange smoke from a distress flare was seen coming from the liferaft by the aircraft's crew, a police spokesman said.
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An RAAF Hercules aircraft was later sent and circled the raft. Fishing vessels in the area were also despatched but the nearest was about 50 nautical miles away and would take hours to reach the raft, the police spokesman said.
The Herald-Sun also reported that a Qantas 767 was diverted over the area to support the search effort.
The national search and rescue organisation AusSAR co-ordinated the rescue with the assistance of defence and water police in Fremantle.
