Sometimes all we need to do is to ask for ‘HELP’. This is exactly what three men, reportedly experienced mariners in their 40s, did to get rescued after they became stranded on a deserted Pacific island, news agency AFP reported. The trio had set off from Micronesia’s Polowat Atoll on March 31 in their motor-powered skiff, which suffered damage during the journey. As per the report, earlier this week the mariners were rescued after their SOS message, ‘HELP’ assembled with palm tree leaves was spotted by the US Coast Guard.
According to the AFP report, the three mariners were reported missing last Saturday by a woman who informed the US Coast Guard that her three uncles had not returned from Pikelot Atoll, a remote island in the Western Pacific.
"In a remarkable testament to their determination to be found, the mariners spelled out 'HELP' on the beach using palm leaves, which played a crucial role in their discovery," said Lieutenant Chelsea Garcia, the search and rescue mission coordinator, as reported by AFP.
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The trio was found on Pikelot Atoll by a US Navy aircraft on Sunday. Lieutenant Garcia said that this act of “ingenuity” significantly aided the rescue efforts. It guided them directly to the mariners' location.
According to the report, survival packages were dropped by the aircraft crew, and a radio was delivered the following day, in order to establish communication with the stranded men. They conveyed that they were in good health, and had access to food and water, but their skiff's motor was no longer operational, the report added.
On Tuesday morning, a ship rescued the trio and their equipment. It transported them back to Polowat Atoll, the AFP report said.
Notably, this incident marks a similarity with a rescue operation conducted in August 2020 when three Micronesian sailors stranded on Pikelot were rescued after Australian and US warplanes spotted a giant "SOS" they had drawn on the beach.