Pikelot island: Three men rescued from remote island in Micronesia due to beach 'HELP' sign after stranded for more than week

Three men were rescued from a remote island after they sent out a plea for ‘HELP’ using palm tree leaves. They had been reported missing after failing to return from a journey to Pikelot Atoll - an uninhabited coral island about 415 miles from Guam.

They were rescued from the island on Tuesday (9 April) by a US Navy and Coast Guard operation after being stranded for more than a week. The three men had been planning to fish the waters around the Pikelot Atoll, part of Micronesia, on 31 March when their 20-foot open skiff was caught by swells and its outboard motor was damaged, according to US Coast Guard officials.

They scrambled ashore on uninhabited Pikelot, but their radio ran out of battery power before they could call for help. The castaways gathered palm fronds from the 31-acre island and arranged them to spell out ‘HELP’ on the beach, and waited, according to a Coast Guard statement.

The names of the stranded men have not been released by the Coast Guard. Coast Guard officials said the men lived off coconut meat, but they did have fresh water from a small well on the island, which is sometimes visited by fishers in the region.

The Coast Guard said in a statement that the three men were experienced mariners in their 40s. After the men failed to return, a relative alerted the Coast Guard's Joint Rescue Sub-Center in Guam that her three uncles were missing, sparking a search and rescue mission.

First responders were initially searching an area that was more than 78,000 square nautical miles in poor weather conditions. But then they spotted the men from the air due to their ‘HELP’ sign. 

Lt Chelsea Garcia, who led the search and rescue mission the day they were located, said: "In a remarkable testament to their will to be found, the mariners spelled out 'HELP' on the beach using palm leaves, a crucial factor in their discovery. This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location.”

Coast Guard personnel then airdropped survival packages and a radio to the men while a US Coast Guard vessel made its way to the island. The US Coast Guard said the rescue is an example of the strong coordination between the US and the Federal States of Micronesia, as well as US Navy personnel who are stationed in the area.

Micronesia, in the western Pacific, consists of some 600 tiny islands scattered over a vast ocean expanse. It has also been the site of another rescue in recent years. In 2020, three Micronesian mariners were saved - by the Australian Defence Force after spelling out ‘SOS’ on the beach.