| P O R T H O L E : 12 April 16

HERE’S why they do those
lifeboat drills.
It’s not quite Lost, Castaway
or Gilligan’s Island, but three
men have been rescued after
they were marooned on an
uninhabited Pacific island.
The trio, who were fortunately
wearing life jackets, spent an
entire night swimming after
their vessel capsized some
hours after they departed from
Pulap in the Federated States of
Micronesia last Mon.
They eventually pulled
themselves ashore on the
remote island of Fanadik which
is several hundred kilometres
north east of PNG, where they
were stranded for three days
before being rescued by a team
from the US Navy.
The search party managed to
spot them after the castaways
spelt out a gigantic “HELP” on
one of the island’s beaches using
palm fronds.
The US Navy’s Lieutenant
William White said the
successful rescue was the
result of “our combined efforts
coupled with the willingness
of many different resources to
come together and help”.