Eleven fishermen survive for almost a week on a sand island off the coast of Australia

On an uninhabited island hundreds of kilometers off the west coast of Australia, eleven Indonesian fishermen have lived without food or drinking water for six days. The men’s boat was hit by the violent cyclone “Ilsa” last week.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) announced this on Wednesday. The tropical storm later raged in Australia’s Pilbara region. A second fishing boat has sunk, the nine occupants are probably dead, the Australian broadcaster ABC quotes the Indonesian rescue services.

A fisherman from the sunken boat clung to a jerry can in the sea for 30 hours and was eventually floated to the atoll, too, rescuers said. That the men survived on Bedwell Island – a small sand island – is due to chance: On Monday, the crew of an Australian Border Force (ABF) plane discovered the stranded people during a routine inspection flight.

Finally, a helicopter was sent to the island from the coast. That the fishermen survived for so long is remarkable, they must have been “frightened beyond belief,” said rescue expert Gordon Watt. For protection, the men had built a small camp from the wreckage of the boat. “An incredible survival story,” noted ABC.

The rescued were examined at a hospital in Broome, Australia and in surprisingly good condition, it was said. On her home island of Roti off the western tip of Timor, relatives and friends had been anxiously awaiting news for days. “I know these people very well,” says one resident. “They all have little kids waiting for them at home.”

Bedwell Island is part of the Rowley Shoals, a group of three atoll-like coral reefs. The extremely remote area is largely untouched. Politically, the reefs belong to Australia. (sda/dpa)