Three marine men who were left stranded on a remote island in the Pacific for three days, were rescued on Thursday after spelling out the letters H-E-L-P with palm leaves.
The three castaways were on an island over 2,500 southwest of Honolulu after they were forced to swim for two miles when their ship capsized on Monday night, due to adverse weather conditions.
3 mariners safe after joint rescue by #USCG @USPacificFleet @US7thFleet @Amver More: https://t.co/g0j8k8f5eu pic.twitter.com/DRcHyBApVQ
— USCG Hawaii Pacific (@USCGHawaiiPac) April 9, 2016
The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard rescued the mariners, after seeing their SOS message in the sand as well as their luminous orange vests. The men had also made a fire to attract those participating in the rescue. It is believed that those operating the navy plane which eventually found the men, said that without the fire, the search could have continued for a few more hours.
The Coast Guard were first notified of their disappearance and they later recruited the assistance of the navy and local vessels in the search.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard said they have carried out seven separate search and rescue missions in the area since March 28. She added that these rescue efforts have helped save 15 lives.
