Three castaways rescued after 33 days eating coconuts
Three people have been rescued from a deserted island in the Bahamas after they were stranded for 33 days and survived on coconuts.
A helicopter crew with the US Coast Guard (USCG) rescued them earlier this week. They were spotted waving flags the day before, during a routine air patrol of the waters around Anguilla Cay. The helicopter dropped water, food and a radio.
According to USCG, the castaways are all Cuban nationals. Seemingly they ended up on the island about five weeks ago after their boat capsized.
According to the Sun Sentinel, USCG’s Brandon Murray said it wasn’t immediately clear why the people were in the boat in the first place.
He said that they may have been migrants trying to make it to the US or fishermen who got lost at sea and expressed disbelief that the group managed to survive for so long.
“I cannot recall a time that we saved people who were stranded for over a month on an island,” Murray said. “That is a new one for me.”
None of the castaways appeared seriously hurt, USCG said.
