Castaways rescued from writing “help” on island beach

Three mariners were rescued on Tuesday after spending days stranded on a small island just over 400 miles from the Pacific U.S. territory of Guam. The men, who had experience navigating the waters, had launched an Easter Sunday voyage, according to a statement by the Coast Guard. The trio set out from Polowat Atoll, about 115 miles away, in a 20-foot open skiff with an outboard motor. They were rescued in a joint Navy-Coast Guard operation after spending more than a week alone on the small coral island.

How were they found? The Joint Rescue Sub-Center in Guam received a call from a relative on April 6, who said her three uncles had not returned from a voyage to the island, Pikelot Atoll. The call prompted a U.S. Navy P-8 aircraft crew from Kadena Air Force Base in Japan and the USCGC Oliver Henry to search around 100,000 square miles. The mariners were located a day after the call. The men used palm tree branches to write “HELP” on the beach, which Coast Guard Lt. Chelsea Garcia said prompted the rescue.

Searchers dropped survival packages and a communication radio, allowing the men to confirm that they were healthy, but the motor of their skiff had broken. The USCGC Oliver Henry picked up the men on Tuesday and returned them to Polowat Atoll. The Coast Guard highly recommends sailors equip vessels with Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon to help in the event of a search.