Sign on Pikelot Island beach with men's shelters. Photo: US COAST GUARD/Shutterstock
Three castaways stranded for a week on an uninhabited island in the Western Pacific Ocean were rescued after they used palm leaves to say the word «help» on a sandy beach.
The three men, all 40 years old, were found in good health Tuesday on Pikelot Island, an uninhabited 32-acre palm-fringed islet 415 miles southeast of Guam, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.
< p>Their identities and nationalities have not been disclosed.
p> 
While on the island, the men had access to food and water. They also recovered their damaged ship. Photo: USCOAST GUARD MICRONESIA/GUAM SECTOR/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Their saga began on Easter Sunday when they set sail in a 20ft open skiff with an outboard motor from Polowat. atoll, about 100 nautical miles east of where the men were found.
Six days later, after the experienced sailors did not return, their niece alerted authorities and the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy began a search. The initial search area covered more than 78,000 square nautical miles.
A day later, a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft spotted the sign and began a rescue operation, the Coast Guard said.
«This act of ingenuity was instrumental in directing rescue efforts directly to their location.» This was stated by US Coast Guard Lt. Chelsea Garcia.
The US Coast Guard said the sign was an «act of ingenuity» 39 ; and played a «key role in directing rescue operations directly to their location»; Photo: USCOAST GUARD MICRONESIA/GUAM SECTOR/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
While on the island, which is part of the Federated States of Micronesia, the men had access to food and water. They also found their damaged boat.
A Coast Guard photo shows two small covered shelters near the Help sign. The New York Times reported that this is not the first time castaways have been rescued from the island. About four years ago, three missing sailors were found after they wrote «SOS» in the sand.
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