For 24 days, a man lost at sea survived by eating Ketchup
KETCHUP – A man from the Caribbean island of Dominica who lost at sea for 24 days survived after eating the tomato-based condiment.
“I had no food. There was only a bottle of ketchup that was on the boat, garlic powder and (bouillon cubes) Maggi. So I mixed it up with some water for me to survive 24 days in the sea,” Elvis Francois, 47, said.
The islander was discovered 120 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Bolivar in the northern department of La Guajira. When rescuers found him, the word “help” was engraved on the boat’s hull.
Francois saw boats passing by but they did not notice him despite he tried to flag them and even set a fire on his vessel. On the 15th day of January, he saw a plane passing by. He used a mirror to catch the glare of the sun and draw attention. Fortunately, the crew of the said plane spotted him.
Then, he was rescued through the help of the Navy and a merchant ship. According to him, he was floating at sea for 24 days. At one point, he lost hope but thinking about his family gave him determination that he will survive.
It was on December of last year, he was attempting to fix a sailboat off the coast of St. Maarten, an island in the Netherlands Antilles, when the weather became bad and he was washed out to sea. The signal on Francois’ cellphone ran out as he attempted to make calls.
Meanwhile, Francois was turned over to the immigration officers, who would arrange for his repatriation to his nation.
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