A group of Indonesian fishermen are recovering after being stranded for six days without food or supplies on a coral atoll off Australia’s west coast, officials said.
Ten people were washed ashore on Bedwell Island, some 300km west of the holiday resort of Broome, after their boat while fishing in the Indian Ocean was damaged by a severe tropical cyclone, reports RTE.
An 11th fisherman from another vessel also reached shore after wading in the water for 30 hours, but authorities fear nine of his crew may have drowned after their boat capsized in heavy seas.
Photos show that the fishermen had made a makeshift camp on a narrow headland to salvage as much as possible from their small boat, which was stranded nearby.
Bedwell Island is remote, exposed, and inaccessible—little more than a bare white sand beach with no natural shelter or freshwater springs, reports RTE.
The men were flown off the island by a rescue helicopter on Monday night after they were spotted on patrol by an Australian Border Force surveillance aircraft.
Officials said they were now receiving medical treatment in mainland Australia and would return to Indonesia once they recovered, reports RTE.
“Upon their arrival on the mainland, the individuals were provided with the appropriate care and medical support,” the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement, reports RTE.
Tropical Cyclone Ilsa made landfall in Western Australia on Friday last week, hitting coastal areas with some of the strongest winds the country has ever recorded.
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