Three castaways stranded for a week on a desert island in the western Pacific Ocean have been rescued after a US navy aircraft searching for them spotted palm fronds that the trio used to spell out the word “HELP” on a sandy beach. The men, all in their 40s, were found in good health on Tuesday on Pikelot Island, an uninhabited 32-acre islet covered by palm trees about 670km southeast of Guam, the US Coast Guard said in a statement on Thursday. Their identities and citizenship were not released.
The initial search area spanned more than 78,000 square nautical miles. A day later, the US navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft spotted the makeshift “HELP” sign written out with palm leaves and began the rescue effort, the Coast Guard said. “This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location,” US Coast Guard Lieutenant Chelsea Garcia said. While stranded on the island, which is part of the Federated States of Micronesia, the men had access to food and water.
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