3 rescued from island after US Navy jet spots ‘help’ written on beach

Three men who had been missing for three days were rescued from a deserted Pacific island after a U.S. Navy plane spotted the word “help” spelled out in palm leaves on the beach, officials said Saturday.

Three men who had been missing for three days were rescued from a deserted Pacific island after a US Navy plane spotted the word “help” spelled out in palm leaves on the beach, officials said on Saturday.

Three men were rescued from a deserted Pacific island after a plane spotted the word “help” spelled out in on the beach. (Photo: Twitter account of US Navy)

The men’s families reported them missing Tuesday after they failed to show up at the Micronesian island of Weno, US Coast Guard spokesperson Melissa McKenzie said.

The men were travelling in a skiff from another Micronesian island when a wave overtook them, she said.

“Fortunately for them, they were all wearing life jackets and were able to swim to the deserted island,” McKenzie said.

The men’s families reported them missing Tuesday. They were stranded on the island.

The men were waving their orange life jackets when the Navy plane spotted them on the small island of Fanadik, several hundred miles north of Papua New Guinea. Two hours later, a small local boat picked them up and took them to a hospital.

Two bulk carriers searched a combined 17 hours for the men as part of AMVER, a US Coast Guard voluntary search and rescue programme. With AMVER, rescue coordinators can identify participating ships in the area of distress and ask them to help.

In the last two weeks, 15 people have been rescued in the Pacific with the help of 10 AMVER vessels and six aircrews, the US Coast Guard said.

One of the men trying to catch the attention of a US Navy plane.