The Tom Hanks classic Castaway is not just a movie anymore (though Hanks reuniting with his scene partner Wilson the volleyball was very touching), nor is it someone’s voluntary vacation. Now the premise of people getting stranded on a deserted island is an IRL-type scenario, as the recent rescue of three men who were stranded on a remote Pacific island indicates.
According to the U.S. Navy on Facebook, three men spent Monday night swimming to dry land after their 19-foot skiff capsized in the Pacific Ocean. They ended up on the remote Fanadik Island, where they remained until Saturday, when the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy rescued the men, having spotted their large HELP sign made out of palm leaves. The men themselves were standing around the sign, waving their life jackets.
According to NBC News, the search started when the men failed to make a morning flight on the Micronesian island of Chuuk. It was then that the Coast Guard was informed.
The Coast Guard has more information about the rescue, as well as pictures of the HELP sign on their Facebook page:
I can’t believe these stranded mariners had to swim nearly two miles in dark water to safety. At the very least, they didn’t have to wait years for their rescue as Tom Hanks did.
(via U.S. Navy, NBC News, and Coast Guard; h/t BroBible)
