The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three Cuban citizens trapped on a desert island for about five weeks after officials saw the group waving an improvised flag to get their attention.
The group, including two men and a woman, lived on an uninhabited island in the Bahamas, Anguilla Cay, for 33 days after their boat capsized.
The US Coast Guard found them while flying on a routine mission from the Florida Keys and told the Florida Sun Sentinel that the group lived on coconuts, shells and mice while on the island.
“We were alerted to them by the flags they actually had, plus a large cross they put there for themselves,” helicopter pilot Mike Allert told Miami TV station WPLG.
The pilot then said he decided to fly back around Anguilla Cay to investigate and a crew returned to the island on Monday to drop water, food and a radio.
A helicopter crew returned on Tuesday to pick them up.
Coast Guard officials said the group said their boat capsized in rough waters and that they were able to swim to the island.
“Being out of those difficult elements for a long time, they were very happy to see us,” Allert told ABC’s Good Morning America.
It was not immediately clear if they were migrants trying to come to the United States or if they simply got lost at sea, 2nd-class noncommissioned officer Brandon Murray told South Florida SunSentinel.
They were taken to the Lower Keys medical center, where none appeared to be seriously injured.
The group also built a temporary shelter, said a Coast Guard official.
“I can’t remember a time when we saved people who were stuck on an island for more than a month. This is a new one for me. “