"Survived on Only Ketchup and Garlic Powder"…Dramatic Rescue After 24 Days Adrift in the Caribbean Sea

Swept Away by Waves in Stormy Weather During Boat Repair
Also Used Mirror Light Reflection to Signal for Rescue

A resident of a small island in the Caribbean was dramatically rescued after drifting in the open sea for more than three weeks. It is known that he endured the long drifting period by eating ketchup and garlic powder that were on the boat.

According to Colombian daily El Espectador and others on the 19th (local time), Elvis Fran?ois (47) from the Commonwealth of Dominica was swept away by waves along with his boat due to bad weather while repairing the boat at a port on Sint Maarten Island last December. Sint Maarten Island is one of the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean Sea.

[Image source=Pixabay]

He tried to navigate the boat, but he did not know the sea routes well and did not know which direction to go. The mobile phone he had also did not get a signal.

To make matters worse, he had hardly any food. All he had were ketchup, garlic powder, and broth seasoning cubes.

Fran?ois collected rainwater using cloth as drinking water and endured by sharing what he had little by little. From time to time, he also bailed out water that had accumulated in the boat to prevent it from sinking.

He also wrote the word "HELP" on the hull to request rescue, and tried to send distress signals by lighting a fire on the boat when he saw passing ships from afar, but failed.

Elvis Francois, who was rescued after drifting in the Caribbean Sea for 24 days, is undergoing a medical examination on the 16th (local time) aboard a merchant ship in Cartagena, Colombia. He reportedly survived by eating ketchup and garlic powder that were on the ship.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

After about 20 days, he spotted a plane flying overhead nearby and used a mirror to reflect sunlight to indicate his location. The aircraft crew who saw this reported it to the nearby Colombian authorities, and the Colombian Navy requested help from a merchant ship sailing nearby, rescuing Fran?ois on the 16th in the sea 222 km northwest of La Guajira Department. It had been 24 days since he started drifting.

Afterwards, Fran?ois was transferred to a hospital in Cartagena, a port city in Colombia. It was reported that he had no particular abnormalities except for a slight weight loss.

Fran?ois said, "There was no one to talk to, and I didn’t know what to do," adding, "At some point, I lost hope and only thought of my family."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.