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The sailor named Elvis lives on ketchup for 24 days while lost at sea off Colombia before being rescued when he wrote “help” on his helmet and directed sunlight from a mirror to alert a passing plane. .
- A 47-year-old man has been rescued from being adrift for 24 days on a sailboat
- After surviving on minimal food, he was spotted by a passing plane.
- He was rescued by the navy in Colombian waters more than 100 miles from the coast
A man from the Caribbean island of Dominica says he survived 24 days lost at sea on a sailboat eating tomato sauce before being rescued in Colombian waters.
Elvis Francois, 47, had the word ‘help’ carved into the hull of his sailboat when it was found 120 nautical miles northwest of the Colombian coast. Francois said he saw other boats go by and tried to flag them down, even setting their boat on fire, but they didn’t see him.
It was only when a passing plane caught sight of his mirror reflection and called the navy that Francois was able to be rescued.
Francois was lost at sea for over three weeks before he was spotted by a plane flying over him. When he used a mirror to point out the plane, he knew it had worked when he flew over it twice.
Elvis was washed out to sea while repairing a sailboat on the island of St Maarten. After 24 days at sea he was finally seen by a plane that alerted the navy. Francois has received medical attention and has been turned over to Colombian immigration to return home.
I had no food. There was only one bottle of ketchup that was in the pot, garlic powder and (bouillon cubes) Maggi. So I mixed it with a bit of water to survive 24 days at sea,” Francois said in English in a video released by the Colombian Navy.
‘The last few days, around January 15, I saw a plane. I had a mirror. I was doing some cues,’ she said, describing how she angled the glass to catch the sun’s glare and draw attention.
“They passed over the boat twice so I realized they saw me,” he continued. “I’m thankful to be alive today because of them.”
The nearby merchant ship helped the navy rescue Franco from being stranded at sea for 24 days.
The Colombian navy treated Francois for his most serious ailments, including dehydration and malnutrition, while escorting the islander back to a safe port.
The plane’s crew informed the Navy, which then rescued Francois with the help of a merchant ship that escorted them to the nearby port city of Cartagena.
Francois added: ’24 days, no land. No one to talk to. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where you are. It was hard. A certain time I lose hope. I think of my family.
It was very hard. I don’t know how I am alive today, but I am alive. And I’m grateful for that,” Francois said.
He was working to repair a sailboat off a port on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles in December last year when the weather turned bad and he was washed out to sea, the Navy said.
‘Without having any knowledge of navigation, I was lost and disoriented at sea. His efforts to maneuver the vessel and the equipment on board were in vain,” the statement added.
He was handed over to the immigration authorities to coordinate his return to his country.