SOS couple rescued from desert island
Two missing boaters stranded on an uninhabited Pacific island were rescued on Friday after a US Navy aircraft spotted a sign they carved in the sand that read 'SOS'.
The survivors - who were spotted on a beach near the makeshift sign on East Fayu Island in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia - are safe, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Friday.
The rescue followed a seven-day search by an international maritime team, who searched a total of 16,571 square miles for the pair.
The US Embassy in Kolonia identified the boaters as Linus and Sabina Jack, who are both in their 50s. The couple had departed from Weno Island on August 17, en route to Tamatam Island, according to the US Coast Guard.
They left with limited supplies and no emergency equipment, and were expected to arrive on Tamatam Island the following day, but never made it.
The embassy noted the Jacks had a flashlight in their boat, which ran into difficulties due to water depth while trying to access the lagoon.
On August 19, the US Coast Guard's command center in Guam received a notification of a missing 18-foot boat with two people aboard.
While conducting a search pattern, the international maritime team spotted light signals from a nearby island on Wednesday.
A US Navy aircraft crew was deployed to investigate the source of light when they spotted the stranded couple on the island and their makeshift sign.
Comments