THREE SAILORS HAVE been rescued by the US Coast Guard after becoming stranded on a small island in the Federated States of Micronesia for over a week.
On 6 April, the Joint Rescue Sub-Center Guam (JRSC) received a distress call from a woman reporting her three uncles had not returned from the island of Pikelot Atoll.
The island of Pikelot Atoll is located in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, east of the Pilippines and north of Papau New Guinea.
The three men, reportedly embarked on their voyage from the Island of Polowat Atoll on Easter Sunday in a small 20-foot open skiff, equipped with an outboard motor and experience in navigating the waters.
The JRSC Guam immiedate began coordinating a search and rescue operation following the distress call.
The following day, on 7 April, a US Navy aircraft identified the three men on Pikelot Atoll.
They had spelled out ‘HELP’ on the beach using palm leaves.
“This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location” said Lt Chelsea Garcia, the search and rescue mission coordinator on the day they were located.
The aircraft crew successfully deployed survival packages to sustain the three sailors until further assistance could arive.
The US Coast Guard’s Oliver Henry ship was rerouted to Pikelot Atoll to carry out the rescue operation. The boat arrived at the island on the morning of 9 April.
The ship’s crew successfully rescued the sailors and their equipment and returned them to Polowat Atoll.
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