Three men who were stranded on an uninhabited Pacific island for three days were rescued after using palm fronds to spell the word “help” in the sand on Fanadik Island.
A Navy P-8 Madfox 807 aircrew from Misawa Air Base in Japan was conducting a search pattern for the missing mariners when they spotted survivors holding lifejackets and their makeshift sign. This information was relayed back to search and rescue watchstanders in Guam and shared with the family.
The survivors were then picked up and transferred by a local small boat to Pulap.
Watchstanders at the Sector Guam Command Center received notification from a Chuuk search and rescue liaison last week of an overdue skiff en route the island of Weno.
Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast, coordinated the assistance of the Navy P-8 aircrew and vessels in the area of the skiff’s last known location to assist in the search. AMVER vessels Brilliant Jupiter and Ten Yu Maru diverted and conducted a combined 17 hours and searched 178 miles of track-line.
Click here for the full report by The Washington Post.
