Man lost at sea for 24 days survives on a bottle of ketchup, stock cubes – National | 24CA News
A 47-year-old man was rescued this week by the Colombian navy after 24 days adrift at sea. How did he survive the ordeal? By consuming ketchup, garlic powder and bouillon cubes, he mentioned.
Elvis Francois, 47, from the island nation of Dominica, was rescued 120 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Bolívar, Colombia after hostile climate circumstances despatched him adrift, the navy wrote in an announcement Thursday.
He had been making repairs on his boat when he was pulled out to sea. With minimal navigational data, Francois discovered himself unable to manoeuvre again to shore.
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“I had no food. There was only a bottle of ketchup that was on the boat, garlic powder and Maggi (stock cubes). So I mixed it up with some water for me to survive 24 days in the sea,” Francois mentioned in a video posted by the Colombian navy.
Francois carved the phrase “help” on the hull of his boat however wasn’t noticed by passing ships for weeks. He mentioned he needed to bail out water to maintain from sinking and even lit a hearth on his vessel to try to get the eye of a close-by ship.
“The final days, about Jan. 15, I saw a plane. I had a mirror. I was making some signals,” Francois mentioned, detailing how he tried to angle his mirror to catch daylight to alert the passing airplane.
“They passed over the boat twice so I realized they saw me,” he added. “I am grateful for being alive today because of them.”
Francois was rescued with the assistance of the service provider ship Voltaire and was dropped at Cartagena to obtain medical consideration.
Image of the service provider ship Voltaire, which assisted within the rescue of Elvis Francois, 47, off the northwest coast of Colombia.
Armada de Colombia
“Twenty-four days – no land, nobody to talk to. Don’t know what to do, don’t know where you are. It was rough,” he mentioned. “At a certain time, I lose hope. I think about my family.”
Colombian officers mentioned Francois was handed over to immigration authorities to help in his return house.
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