HONOLULU (AP) – It took several approaches and a smoke marker to convince three Pacific island castaways that a U.S. Navy crew had spotted their “help” sign three days after going missing at sea, a Navy officer in charge of the rescue said.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Harkins told the Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday night that the three men, whose small skiff capsized in the remote Pacific ocean days earlier, continued to frantically wave their orange life vests overhead as the sailors circled above in their aircraft.
“Initially they weren’t so sure that we had seen them,” Harkins said. “We made an effort to alleviate their concerns.”
The flight crew first rocked the aircraft’s wings, then made several low approaches before finally dropping a smoke marker in the water directly in front of the men.
“Eventually they actually started relaxing,” Harkins said. “We have a photo of all three of them laying down, some on top of the ‘help’ sign.”