The men had set off from Polowat Atoll on Easter Sunday in a six-metre boat with an outboard motor to go fishing. After they had still not returned six days later, the niece of one of the sailors alerted the authorities. The coastguard launched a rescue operation in a search area of over 78,000 square nautical miles. When a US Navy aircraft flew over the uninhabited island of Pikelot in Micronesia last Tuesday, the crew spotted a large "H-E-L-P" made of palm fronds on the beach. They dropped survival packs for the three men and relayed their location to the rescue centre.
Message in the sand led to rescue
The 32-hectare, palm-covered island on which the men were stranded is part of Micronesia, as is the Polowat Atoll. It is located around 100 nautical miles (approximately 185 kilometres) from the men's home island. According to media reports, the outboard motor of their boat had suffered damage. They saved themselves on the uninhabited island, but were unable to call for help as the batteries in their radio were flat. The US Coast Guard photos show two small covered shelters next to the embassy in the sand, where the shipwrecked people must have stayed for eleven days. According to a CNN report, the stranded people were subsisting on coconuts and water from a small well on the island, which is sometimes visited by fishermen in the region.
The New York Times reported that this was not the first time that shipwrecked people had been rescued from the island of Pikelot. Four years ago, three missing sailors were found there after writing "SOS" in the sand.
