Two Myanmar (Burma) 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 "casket sized."
"The only other person they report seeing was a guy flying overhead in a lawn chair and balloons."
"For them to have even been spotted in such 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.
"It was thrilling, What a feeling...Burma Shave", stated one of the men who only knew Sign Language.
