Coast Guard rescues three stranded on island for 33 days
Tory Rich | February 11, 2021
On Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued three Cuban nationals who were stranded for 33 days on Anguilla Cay, an uninhabited island of the Bahamas northeast of Havana. The three survivors, one woman and two men, managed to swim to the island after their boat capsized in rough seas. They sustained themselves on a diet of coconuts, meat from conch shells, and rats.
A crew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, in an HC-144 Ocean Sentry, originally spotted the three while on a routine patrol on Monday. They spotted a large cross that they had built, as well as makeshift orange flags that they waved to gain the plane’s attention. The crew dropped them food, water, and a radio to establish communications.
An MH-60 from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater was sent to retrieve them and bring them to Lower Keys Medical Center in Monroe County, Florida for treatment. Incredibly, while dehydrated and exhausted, they were reportedly in good spirits and otherwise no worse for the wear. The ordeal feels like something pulled from a Hollywood script (or a certain 1960’s sitcom), but the situation was all too real for the marooned trio, as they told the Coast Guard crews that the lack of fresh water eventually would have killed them.
https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/coast-guard-rescues-three-stranded-on-island-for-33-days/
