The US Coast Guard said the sign was a 'crucial factor' in discovering the three men. The sailors, who were in their 40s, survived on coconuts during their week-long ordeal.
Three sailors were saved from a tiny uninhabited Pacific island after forming a giant 'HELP' sign using palm tree leaves. The three men were found on Tuesday evening after being stranded for more than a week on the minute Pikelot Atoll, part of the Federated States of Micronesia. The trio, who have not been identified but are all in their 40s and related to one another, survived on coconuts. They had travelled to a different atoll - Polowat - on Easter Sunday on a small 20 ft boat.
Chelsea Garcia said in a statement. Pikelot Atoll is an uninhabited coral island about 1,000 miles north of Papua New Guinea that is occasionally visited by fishing boats. Micronesia, which the atoll is part of, is a collection of about 600 islands that cover a huge expanse of the western Pacific. The rescue operation was hindered by poor weather and a lack of planes, the coastguard said.
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