SYDNEY: Two Burmese men, who said they spent nearly a month floating in an icebox on storm-battered seas after their fishing boat sank, have been rescued off of Australia's northern coast.
The men, both in their 20s, were picked up last Saturday when a routine coastal patrol flight spotted something unusual in the water, according to Tracey Jiggins, a spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
"They went back and had a look and realized it was two people," Jiggins said Monday night.
The men were standing shoulder to shoulder in an industrial icebox, which was "about the size of a chest freezer," Jiggins said. They waved clothes at the aircraft to attract attention.
An emergency helicopter was sent to pick up the men, one of whom was apparently so eager to escape that he jumped into the water as one of his rescuers was being lowered from the aircraft.
The men, both in their 20s, were picked up last Saturday when a routine coastal patrol flight spotted something unusual in the water, according to Tracey Jiggins, a spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
"They went back and had a look and realized it was two people," Jiggins said Monday night.
The men were standing shoulder to shoulder in an industrial icebox, which was "about the size of a chest freezer," Jiggins said. They waved clothes at the aircraft to attract attention.
An emergency helicopter was sent to pick up the men, one of whom was apparently so eager to escape that he jumped into the water as one of his rescuers was being lowered from the aircraft.
