Man survives 24 days at sea by eating only tomato sauce and seasoning cubes
Desperate times call for desperate measures...
Reading the headline you might feel like you have traveled back in time, as it doesn't happen too often that you hear about someone being lost at sea.
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As a result of a series of unfortunate events, it is possible to be swept away by sea currents and that's exactly what happened to Elvis Francois.
The 47-year-old told Colombian authorities that he was busy making repairs off the island of St. Martin in the Netherlands Antilles when the currents swept his sailboat out to sea.
I called my friends, they tried to contact me, but I lost the signal. There was nothing else to do but sit and wait.
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Eventually, he decided to write the word 'help' on his boat's hull and had to constantly remove water from the boat to stop it from sinking. In another attempt to catch the attention of anyone close by, he tried to send a distress signal by lighting a fire, which failed.
Francois also said that he had started to lose hope and just thought about his family.
But I thank the coast guard. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be telling the story.
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Francois's saving grace came in the form of a plane passing over his boat which he was able to signal using a mirror. He was then picked up by a passing container ship and taken to the city of Cartagena.
The most incredible part of the story is how he was able to survive the 24 days without sufficient food and water!
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Elvis decided to make a plan:
This man was lost at sea for 24 days. He survived on ketchup, seasoning, and rainwater. pic.twitter.com/ldGgdD778i
— DW News (@dwnews) January 21, 2023
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Although we still wouldn't recommend a diet of tomato sauce and seasoning, after receiving a medical check, Elvis was found to be in good health even though he had lost weight.
Now, with the help of the immigration authorities, he is finally on his way home.
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A happy ending to a stressful story.
Who knows, this could be the sequel to 'Life of Pi' which we didn't know we needed.
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Image Credit: @BLUCaribe/Twitter