Three Micronesian sailors were saved after they wrote SOS in the sand on the island they had been stranded on. Their signal was spotted by searchers on a U.S. aircraft, the Australian defense department said Monday.
What had started off as a literal 3 hour tour, from Pulawat atoll to Pulap atoll, about 27 miles, turned into a 3 day adventure. The mariners apparently ran out of fuel and drifted off course, far off course. The sailors were stuck on Pikelot island, more than 100 miles from their intended destination.
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A USAF KC-135 spotted the SOS, and radioed to the Australian helicopter assault ship HMAS Canberra. The Canberra dispatched a Helo to deliver food and water to the castaways.
The Pacific class patrol boat FSS Independence, operated by the Federated States of Micronesia, picked the men up and is returning them to Pulap according to the US Coast Guard.