Men Rescued from Remote Pacific Island After Spelling 'Help' in Palm Fronds

The men were rescued from a very remote area of the Pacific.

ByABC News
April 8, 2016, 10:14 PM

— -- Three men were rescued from a remote Pacific Island after they spelled "help" in the sand using palm fronds, the Coast Guard said.

The mariners had been stranded on the uninhabited island for three days.

PHOTO: A small boat from Pulap, FSM, recovers three men from the uninhabited island of Fanadik after they were discovered by a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, April 7, 2016.
A small boat from Pulap, FSM, recovers three men from the uninhabited island of Fanadik after they were discovered by a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, April 7, 2016.

Officials at Sector Guam received notification on Tuesday morning about a ship that was missing on its way to the island of Weno in Micronesia.

Rescuers from a variety of sources joined in and searched an area in the last known location.

A US Navy crew from Japan was conducting a search when they spotted the men holding lifejackets and with the makeshift sign Thursday morning.

PHOTO: The crew aboard a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft located three men who were waving life jackets near a large improvised "help" sign made of palm leaves on the uninhabited island of Fanadik, April 7, 2016.
One of three men discovered by a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft after their 19-foot skiff capsized after setting out to sea from Pulap, FSM, three days earlier, waves lifejackets to attract attention on the uninhabited island of Fanadik, April 7, 2016.
PHOTO: The crew aboard a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft located three men who were waving life jackets near a large improvised "help" sign made of palm leaves on the uninhabited island of Fanadik, April 7, 2016.
The crew aboard a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft located three men who were waving life jackets near a large improvised "help" sign made of palm leaves on the uninhabited island of Fanadik, April 7, 2016.

"Our combined efforts coupled with the willingness of many different resources to come together and help, led to the successful rescue of these three men in a very remote part of the Pacific," said Lt. William White, Sector Guam public affairs officer.