Desert island castaways saved by SOS in the sand
THREE men stranded on a remote Pacific island have been rescued after writing a giant SOS on a beach.
A helicopter from a warship spotted the distress message the trio had dug in the sand near a makeshift shelter they had built.
A major search operation had been mounted after the men went missing making a 25-mile trip between two islands in the sprawling Federated States of Micronesia.
Their 23ft boat had drifted off course after running out of fuel and washed up on tiny Pikelot Island, an uninhabited atoll nearly 120 miles from their starting point.
They had been been missing for three days when a searching chopper from the Australian ship HMAS Canberra saw their SOS and touched down on the beach.
Other crew came ashore from the ship, which is currently on her way from Australia to Hawaii, with food and water and to check the men were safe and healthy.
The Aussie military team – all wearing protective facemasks and keeping at a distance – found them in “in good condition” with no significant injuries and left the job of picking them up to a Micronesian patrol craft.
Canberra’s skipper, Captain Terry Morrison, said: “I am proud of the response and professionalism of all on board as we fulfil our obligation to contribute to the safety of life at sea wherever we are in the world.”
Scattered
Authorities in the US territory of Guam had raised the alarm on Saturday after the men failed to complete a journey between Poluwat and Pulap atolls.
The Federated States of Micronesia consist of more than 600 small islands scattered over a massive expanse of the western Pacific.
Pikelot Island is a low coral atoll just 500 yards long, heavily forested and home to a seabird rookery and turtle nesting site.
In 2016, a couple stranded on the uninhabited Micronesian island of East Fayu for a week were found by the US Navy after writing a big SOS in the sand.
Meanwhile, a teenager who disappeared for nine days was found alive in woods after surviving on berries and water from a stream.
US police feared Gia Fuda, 18, had been abducted after she vanished on July 24 and her car was found on a remote road.
But she had run out of petrol, wandered off from the vehicle and got lost in the Cascade Mountains inWashington state.
Her relieved mother Kristin said: “Thank God there was a creek up there and trees that kept her cool.”
Gia was taken to a hospital where she was treated for scratches, cuts and dehydration but found to be otherwise unharmed.