Two men lost at sea rescued after 29 days from Mono Island in Papua New Guinea

In a miraculous escape, two men who lost their way during a sea voyage, were rescued after enduring 29 days of horror. According to a report by Insider news, two men— Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni— hailing from the Western province of Solomon Islands, were started their journey for Noro, which lies in the western Province of Mono Island on September 3. The news report said that the duo was travelling on a 23 feet ray boat powered by a 60-horsepower outboard motor engine. However, the journey from Mono Island took a turn for the worse after they encountered heavy rain and storm soon after the commencement of the journey. 

"We battled dangerous weather that came with heavy rain, thick dark clouds and strong winds on our way – for about an hour," Nanjikana told SIBC News through a phone interview.

While sharing their daunting 29 days experience, the duo told The Guardian that they struggled with dangerous weather two hours into their journey, causing their Global Positioning System (GPS) to malfunction. Following the failure of the GPS system, the duo could hardly see anything around them so they decided to stop as night was approaching, reported SIBC News. Further, while recounting the horror journey, the duo said they managed to survive on rainwater, oranges and coconut water in order to keep them hydrated. While they packed oranges before their journey, they found coconut while exploring areas near the sea. 
"Our expected time to reach land has lapsed, and without seeing any island, we chose to stop the motor and just stay afloat, we still have some fuel left," the duo told SIBC news. 

"It was a nice break from everything"

As the weather got calmed after nine days, Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni were continually praying to God for strength and guidance.  On the 29th day, they saw a fisherman in his wooden canoe was roaming at a safe distance from the duo's motorboat. However, they failed to get the attention of the fisherman. After hours of tireless effort, the fisherman finally noticed the duo and approached the motorboat.  "It was then that we yelled and constantly signalled our hands to the seaman that he saw us and paddled towards us. When he approached us, we asked, where are we now? And he replied, PNG, ohhh we are now safe,” Nanjikana told SIBC news. Meanwhile, when the media outlet asked about their experience, the duo replied positively and said, "We had a nice break. At least, we were safe from hearing the traumatising news of COVID-19." Meanwhile, the duo is now waiting at the Local Health Clinic in Papua New Guinea for their safe return to their homeland, Solomon Islands.

Image: Pixabay