Couple rescued from desert island after writing ‘SOS’ in the sand

A middle-aged couple has been rescued from an uninhabited Micronesia island where they had been stranded for a week after scrawling a huge “SOS” message in the sand. Linus and Sabina Jack had set out from Weno Island on 17 August with limited supplies and the alarm was raised the next day when they failed to reach Tamatam island aboard their 17ft vessel. They were rescued 10 days later after signaling with a torch, and an SOS in the sand.

The Search and Rescue Operation for Linus and Sabina Jack has been successfully completed. They are found and are waiting for a ship to take them home.

The US Embassy in the Micronesian capital Kolonia posted a message on Facebook

A huge week-long search was launched across 16,571 square miles of remote waters involving 14 ships, two planes and a police launch. Then on Wednesday, 24 August, a ship spotted flashing lights from East Fayu island. A US navy plane went to the area and saw the SOS written on the sand beside the couple’s boat and what appears in photographs to be a small hut made of branches. A patrol boat was then dispatched to rescue the couple.

SOS