'HELP' Written with Palm Leaves... A Movie-Like Escape Story from a Pacific Uninhabited Island

"Decisive Role in Locating the Rescue Team"

Three men trapped on a remote island in the Pacific gathered palm leaves to write 'HELP' and were dramatically rescued.

On the 9th (local time), three men who went missing on the uninhabited island Pikelrot Atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia were rescued. [Image source=U.S. Coast Guard]

On the 11th (local time), the US CNN reported that the US Coast Guard rescued three men in their 40s from the Pikelot Atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia. Lieutenant Chelsea Garcia, who was in charge of the search and rescue mission, said, "They wrote 'HELP' on the beach using palm leaves, which played a decisive role in finding them," adding, "Their ingenious action was crucial in directly guiding the rescue team to their location." The Western Pacific Micronesia, where they were located, consists of about 600 small islands. In particular, Pikelot Atoll is a small uninhabited island about 600 meters long, covered with palm trees and shrubs, located approximately 670 km from Guam. This place is uninhabited, and only hunters or fishermen occasionally visit temporarily.

The US Coast Guard previously stated that the three rescued men were skilled navigators. They departed from Polowat Atoll on a 6-meter-long small boat powered by an outboard motor on the 31st of last month. Afterwards, the boat capsized due to waves, and upon reaching the island, they tried to call for help but were trapped as the radio battery died. On the 6th, the Guam distress center received a report from their family that they had not returned, and the Coast Guard, along with the US Navy, launched a search. Despite bad weather, the rescue team conducted a search over 78,000 square nautical miles.

On the 7th, a US Navy maritime patrol aircraft P-8 Poseidon, dispatched from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, found the men on Pikelot Atoll. The rescue team confirmed by dropping a radio that all were healthy and able to find food and water, but the boat was damaged and not operational. It was reported that they survived for about a week by drinking water drawn from a small well on the island and eating coconut flesh. The men were officially rescued on the 9th and safely returned home.

Rescue signal (SOS) discovered by the U.S. Coast Guard at Pikelot Atoll in 2020. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

This is not the first case of rescue through such distress signals. In 2020, three other men arrived by boat but ran out of fuel and stayed on this island. They wrote 'SOS' on the sand and were rescued by the US Air Force passing nearby. In 2016, three men capsized their boat and swam about 3.2 km to reach a small island in Micronesia. They also wrote 'HELP' on the beach of this island and were rescued by the Coast Guard.