Having gone fishing with friends, they did not expect to have to drift for twenty-eight hours in the Atlantic Ocean… This Sunday, CNN recounts the adventure experienced by three American boaters on the night of October 7 to 8, at off the coast of Louisiana (USA). The acolytes were planning on having a pleasant evening fishing for snapper, but soon found that the weather was getting worse. As increasingly strong waves threatened to overwhelm their boat, they came up with the idea of linking two coolers together with a bandana, in an effort to build a makeshift raft.
Shark and jellyfish attacks
The three friends jumped into the water before their boat sank, wearing life jackets. The long journey of twenty-eight hours then began. They were tossed about by the waves, with no way to prevent help.
Dimly lit by the full moon, the castaways must have suffered repeated attacks from jellyfish and blacktip sharks. One of the three men recounts the first attack: “The shark hit the lifejacket and I tried to push it away. He didn’t want to leave, so I dug my fingers into his eyes. As for the jellyfish, the friends lament: “Every fifteen to twenty minutes, we were stung”.
Their survival is a miracle
The next morning, one of the castaways spotted a fishing boat offshore and swam towards it. He did not manage to reach it, but, miraculously, he realized that his cell phone, protected by a waterproof pouch, was finally picking up the network. The man had time to send a message to his relatives with his position before the device went out, deprived of battery.
The emergency services were thus able to geolocate the survivors and fly to their aid. “The likelihood of finding these people before the message was slim to none,” said one of the rescuers. They were very dehydrated and, of course, hungry. »
Source: 20minutes
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
