Two men and woman rescued from deserted island in the Bahamas after 33 days
Shipwrecked! Two men and a woman who were stranded on a deserted island in the Bahamas for 33 DAYS after their boat capsized are finally rescued by Coast Guard and say they survived on conchs and rats
- A US Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued three people from Anguilla Cay, an uninhabited Bahamian island
- The agency said officers spotted people waving flags during a routine air patrol on Monday
- The castaways, who have not been named publicly, are all Cuban nationals and were rescued Tuesday
- They told rescuers that they ended up on the island about five weeks ago after their boat capsized
- They were airlifted to a hospital without any serious injuries
Two men and a woman have been rescued from a deserted island in the Bahamas after they were stranded for 33 days and survived on conchs and rats.
A helicopter crew with the US Coast Guard (USCG) conducted the Hollywood-worthy rescue on Tuesday.
The agency said officers spotted people waving flags on Monday during a routine air patrol of the waters around Anguilla Cay, an uninhabited Bahama Banks’ island between Cuba and the Florida Keys.
The castaways, who have not been named publicly, were all Cuban nationals, USCG said.
The trio told rescuers that they ended up on the island about five weeks ago after their boat capsized in rough waters and they swam to shore.
Coast Guard aircraft commander Mike Allert told WPLG-TV the trio survived on rats and conchs – a tropical marine mollusk.
Two men and a woman were rescued from a deserted island in the Bahamas on Tuesday after they were stranded for 33 days and survived on conchs and rats. The trio are seen on the shore before a helicopter crew picked them up in a photo released by the US Coast Guard
One of the castaways, who officials said were Cuban nationals, is seen next to a pile of supplies air-dropped by the Coast Guard before the rescue
The Coast Guard said officers spotted people waving flags on Monday during a routine air patrol of the waters around Anguilla Cay, an uninhabited Bahama Banks’ island between Cuba and the Florida Keys
USCG Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Murray said it wasn’t immediately clear why the people were in the boat in the first place, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Murray speculated that they may have been migrants trying to make it to the US or fishermen who got lost at sea.
He expressed disbelief that the group managed to survive for so long on the island alone.
‘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.’
The Coast Guard posted a video on Twitter of a helicopter crew dropping a package with food, water and a radio down to the castaways on Monday. The crew then returned on Tuesday to airlift the trio and transport them to the Lower Keys Medical Center
The helicopter crew that first noticed the group dropped water, food and a radio down to them on Monday, as seen in a video released by the USCG, but bad weather called the main rescue off for a day.
A crew then returned on Tuesday to airlift them and bring them to the Lower Keys Medical Center.
None of the castaways appeared seriously hurt, USCG said.
They were initially taken to Lower Keys Medical Center but were later taken into ICE custody and transferred to Pompano Beach.
