Young men who were stranded in sea cave for three days thankful to be alive

Kept in hospital under observation

The two young men who had gone missing on Friday and found themselves stranded in a cave off Blat il-Melħ three days later are thankful to be alive and well. Nick Johnson, 19, from Birżebbuġa, and Mark Petric, 21, from Serbia, were yesterday held for observation at Mater Dei Hospital after surviving three days in a cave when dangerous waves and currents kept them from making it to shore. They were found bruised and dehydrated but otherwise healthy early yesterday morning clinging to sea cliffs close to Baħrija.

An exhilarated Kirsten Panzavecchia, who is Nick Johnson’s mother, told this newspaper that she was overwhelmed with joy upon being told that her son and his friend had been found alive. She said it was a ‘miracle’ that the boys were found. She also expressed her deep gratitude for all those that had shown awareness and helped with the search for the two young men. In particular, she thanked fisherman Tony Zammit who located the boys and alerted the Armed Forces of Malta. He has since been hailed as a hero.

Speaking to TVM yesterday, Mark Petric’s mother said she screamed with joy when she was given the good news.

In comments to the media, Nick Johnson’s father described the sequence of events that unfolded over the weekend. “They managed to reach a place above the water and they were taking it in turns to sleep on top of each other because the rocks were very hard. The sea was so rough it was

pointless to try a swim out. They were seeing the AFM patrol boats sail by and shouted for help but were not heard. They knew that the safest thing was to stay there and thankfully today the sea calmed down and it was today that we all hoped we would find them, and we did.”

Nick’s father jokingly said that watching all those Bear Grylls episodes had certainly helped his son get through the ordeal.

Nick himself, in a Facebook post, shed light on the conditions he and his friend Mark experienced. He said he was glad he was no longer drinking urine.

The search had been underway since fishermen found two bags containing clothes, mobile phones and shoes around 5am on Saturday in the area limits of Rabat. The two were last seen riding their bicycles on Friday afternoon. The bikes were later found in a cave near Fomm ir-Riħ.

On Friday night both families of two young men reported them missing after they failed to return home from an afternoon bike ride and swim. Relatives appealed for assistance and several people joined in the search. Drones were also used in the search since the area, on the southwest coast of Malta, is very inaccessible and dangerous.

It later emerged that the men had gone for a swim but the sea suddenly turned rough and they found it impossible to get back up to shore. In the end they decided that their best bet was to seek shelter in some caves.

One relative, Francesca Vincenti, told this newspaper that the boys were of “immense support to each other in moments of weakness” as they waited for their ordeal to be over. “They kept encouraging each other to stay alive and keep calm. As soon as the seas calmed down this morning, they were able to swim out.”

They were finally spotted by Tony Zammit, who then called the police and army. The fisherman told NET News that he was delighted to have found them. He was fishing in the area at around 4.15am when he saw the man while using a torch.

Upon receiving the call the AFM dispatched an AW139 helicopter and the Melita II Search and Rescue launch to evacuate the youths. The two young men managed to make their way to the sea and were later recovered by the AFM’s Search and Rescue launch and transferred to medical staff on land at Ċirkewwa.

The young men were then transferred to Mater Dei and held for observation.