Man spots ‘HELP’ written on tiny island and gets completely unexpected outcome
Tom Hanks might want to consider a Castaway sequel (which would make no sense by the way) after three men were rescued from a tiny Pacific Ocean island earlier this week.
The US Navy and Coast Guard were previously on the look out for three mariners who were stranded and in need of some desperate help.
The men were forced to live off coconut meat and well water until they were eventually rescued after a week.
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Their journey to the remote island began on Easter Sunday (31 March) when their 20-foot open skiff was caught by swells and its motor was damaged.
When they scrambled across to the 31-acre island, their radio ran out of battery.
For context on just how remote Piklelot is, the island is one of 600 others located
between the Philippines and Hawaii.
As a result, they went full Cast Away (for a week), and used palm fronds to spell out 'HELP' on the beach.
On 6 April, the Coast Guard began their search after a relative called the rescue officials in Guam, explaining how they had not returned to Polowat Atoll, an island more than 100 miles away.
Thankfully on 7 April, the Coast Guard pilot managed to spot the 'HELP' sign on the beach from their US Navy P-8A reconnaissance jet.
Lt. Chelsea Garcia, the search-and-rescue mission coordinator, said the sign was 'crucial' to finding them in such a small area.
“This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location,” Garcia said.
After dropping survival packs down to the three men, they were later taken to the local rescue centre.
However, this is where it gets interesting.
When Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry arrived at Pikelot on 9 April, he learnt that one of the first rescuers, Eugene Halishlius, was related to all three of the stranded men.
Because Halishlius was Micronesian and spoke the local language, he was able to communicate with the first of the three stranded men.
“I could see on their faces, ‘Whoa! Who’s this guy pulling up that can speak our language?’” Halishlius told CNN.
“It’s a crazy world, I actually found out I’m related to them.
“He couldn’t believe I’m with the Coast Guard trying to rescue them.”
It turns out he was the third cousin of one of the men, and fourth cousins with the other two.
The next family BBQ is going to be lit, for sure.
Anish Vij