Australia: Beach SOS message saves three men stranded on tiny Pacific island

The United States and Australian authorities have informed that an "SOS" message written on the beach of a tiny Pacific island helped them identify three missing mariners on Tuesday, August 4.

According to the Facebook post by Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the three men aboard a 23-foot white and blue skiff departed from Puluwat Atoll intending to travel approximately 21 nautical miles to Pulap, Chuuk on July 29. However, they never made it to their destination and were reported missing. 

According to the authorities, they went off-course and ran out of fuel, landing on tiny, uninhabited Pikelot Island, about 90 kilometers from their intended destination.

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Crew locates mariners

“Joint Rescue Sub-Center Guam received notification of an overdue skiff last seen in the vicinity of Chuuk and requested our assistance,” said US Air Force Maj. Shaun McRoberts, 506th Air Expeditionary Aerial Refueling Squadron assistant director of operations. “Once notified, we began immediately working a plan to launch crews to locate the missing vessel.”

As per reports, Hawaii Air National Guardsmen Lt. Col. Jason Palmeira-Yen, Maj. Byron Kamikawa, Tech. Sgt. Shane Williams along with Pennsylvania Air National Guardsmen Tech. Sgt. Rodney Joseph and Senior Airman Jeremy Williams took off from Andersen AFB in their KC-135 Stratotanker destined to locate the missing vessel. After almost three hours into their mission and flying at about 1,500 feet, the crew located the mariners on the tiny island of Pikelot, Yap. 

According to the Anderson Airforce Base's Facebook page, a helicopter crew from HMAS Canberra delivered supplies to the stranded mariners while a US Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules from Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii airdropped a radio and message block informing them the FSS Independence was en-route to rescue and return them home.

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