The US Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued three people who were stranded on a desert island in the Bahamas and survived in coconuts for 33 days.
A helicopter team initially spotted the trio waving a large makeshift flag on Monday during a routine air patrol around Anguilla Cay, an island chain between the Florida Keys and Cuba, the Coast Guard said.
In a video shared on Twitter, Miami crew members with the Coast Guard of the Southeast USA can be seen throwing food, water and a radio at both men and women.
The weather, however, delayed the rescue until Tuesday, officials said.
The three were taken to the Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West, Florida, the Coast Guard said. No serious injuries were reported.
The survivors, who are from Cuba, told the rescue team that they swam to the desert island after their boat capsized in rough waters, South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
2nd-class U.S. Coast Guard officer, Brandon Murray, told the paper that their survival was nothing short of a miracle.
“I can’t remember a time when we saved people who were stuck on an island for more than a month,” he said. “This is a new one for me.”
