Burmese fishermen survive almost a month in shark-infested waters off Australia
Last updated 27/01/2009 10:23:04
Burmese fishermen survive
Two Burmese fishermen have survived for almost a month in shark-infested waters by floating in a large ice box after their boat sank, rescue officials said.
The men, both aged in their 20s, were on a 12-meter Thai fishing boat with 18 others when it sank in heavy seas off Australia's north coast in December, said Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Tracy Jiggins.
"They had no safety equipment, no beacons, no means of communication and they'd been drifting for 25 days," Jiggins told Reuters, describing the ice box as 'desk sized.'
She added: "For them to have even been spotted in a huge body of water is amazing." The men were spotted by an Australian coastal patrol aircraft.
The pair were winched onto a rescue helicopter and taken to hospital, off Australia's far north. Hospital officials said the pair were hungry and dehydrated after drifting 25 days at sea during the monsoon season and recent cyclonic storms in the region, but they were recovering well and had already been released.
Source: www.reuters.com