Two Burmese survive month at sea in an ice box

CANBERRA (Reuters) – Two Myanmar fishermen have survived for almost a month in shark-infested waters by floating in a large ice box after their boat sank, rescue officials said.

The men, both aged in their 20s, were on a 12-meter Thai fishing boat with 18 others when it sank in heavy seas off Australia's north coast on December 23, said Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Tracy Jiggins.

"They had no safety equipment, no beacons, no means of communication and they'd been drifting for 25 days," Jiggins told Reuters Tuesday, describing the ice box as "desk sized."

"For them to have even been spotted in a huge body of water is amazing," she said.

The men were spotted by an Australian coastal patrol aircraft Saturday. The pair were winched onto a rescue helicopter and taken to hospital Thursday Island, off Australia's far north.

Hospital officials said the pair were hungry and dehydrated after drifting 25 days at sea during the monsoon season and recent cyclonic storms in the region, but they were recovering well and had already been released.

The pair would now be questioned by immigration officials and police, who had not yet determined how the pair survived and what they did for food and water.

Jiggins said the others on board the boat would certainly have perished and no search for other survivors was planned.

Photo at link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090120/od_nm/us_australia_fishermen

I have to laugh here. I saw this headline this morning and immediately imagined two little Burmese kitties stuck in an ice box and got teary eyed. I was even going to check and see if they were going to be put up for adoption.

I am glad these gentlemen are alright and no animals were harmed.

gaia227 said:

I have to laugh here. I saw this headline this morning and immediately imagined two little Burmese kitties stuck in an ice box and got teary eyed. I was even going to check and see if they were going to be put up for adoption.

I am glad these gentlemen are alright and no animals were harmed.

Click to expand...

:laugh:Ok I am in hysterics right know because I though the EXACT same thing then read your post. And I thought I was the only one that put animals before people. I am glad they are ok too but glad they weren't little kitties. HAHAHAHAHAHA

Make that three of us! Go figure!

I guess you can tell I'm NOT an animal person because I thought of people, not cats. LOL! I did however, think for a split second that the men were floating in a large block of ice. :crazy:

There's now some talk from experts that they appeared to be in far too good condition to have been at sea for the length of time they claim. And that the esky was not very stable and would have been tipped over by waves.