Birds save fishermen in distress

Two fishermen drifted between the oceans for 25 days in a stone container after their fishing boat crashed. They survived by drinking rainwater and eating fish released by seabirds.

Two fishermen waved when they saw the rescue helicopter on January 17.Photo: AFP.

Australian rescue helicopters found two fishermen on Jan. 17 and officials are investigating why they have flocked to sharks in the northern coast. Two young men said they were Myanmar citizens and set sail with 18 other fishermen on a wooden boat 10 meters long. The boat met with great storms when fishing in Indonesian waters and shattered. Two young men were lucky enough to grab a large bucket of 1 meter high stone, 1 meter wide and 2 meters long.

'For 10 days we have nothing to eat. The storm gave us rainwater to drink. Then two pretty big seabirds came flying. They released 6 to 7 small fish and we ate those fish ' , the two recounted.

Australian officials believe that if the stories of these two young men were true, they would not expect to find the remaining victims of the shipwreck. Meanwhile, some people are skeptical of the miraculous survival story of two fishermen when they are taken to a hospital in Queensland.

Dr. Paul Luckin, an official of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve, said the two young men could only survive after 25 days at sea if they had regular freshwater supplies. 'They can catch rainwater in that bucket, which means that the bottom of the bin must be relatively clean. In other words, the bottom of the barrel does not have salt water and fish carcasses. But I do not believe that the sea does not enter the box after 25 days at sea, " he said.

Doctors treating two young men said their health was very good, so it was hard to believe they had drifted on the sea for 25 days. 'Their skin is not burning or blistering because of the sun. We have not found any signs that they have been on the surface of the sea for a long time, ' a doctor said.

But Peter Heath, head of the rescue company, said two young men were dehydrated and one had many skin sores when the helicopter found them.