Three Cuban nationals rescued this week after being stranded on a deserted Bahamian island for 33 days said they managed to survive on a diet of coconuts, shellfish and rats, reports said.
The two men and a woman were first spotted by a US Coast Guard helicopter on a routine mission near the Florida Keys on Monday. As of Wednesday morning, they were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Pompano Beach, Fla., the agency said.
“We were warned by the flags they actually had, next to a big cross that they put there in front of themselves,” helicopter pilot Mike Allert told WPLG.
These photos show that three Cuban citizens were rescued from a desert island between Florida and Cuba on Monday.
(Coast Guard)
7 YEARS OLD WITH CEREBRAL PALSY CRAWLS TO THE RESCUE OF HIS FAMILY
Allert said he decided to fly back around Anguilla Cay to investigate and a crew returned to the island later Monday to drop water, food and a radio.
The trio were stranded on a deserted Bahamian island between Key West and Cuba, the agency reported on Twitter. A helicopter crew returned on Tuesday to pick them up.
They told officials that their boat had capsized in rough water and that they could swim to the island.
The trio also informed the Coast Guard helicopter crew that they had survived on coconuts, shellfish and rats, news media reported.
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The two men and women were taken to Lower Keys Medical Center, where none of them were found to have any serious injuries.
“I don’t remember a time when we rescued people stranded on an island for more than a month,” Brandon Murray, US Coast Guard Petty Officer, 2nd Class, told Sun Sentinel in South Florida. “That’s a new one for me.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.