CANBERRA, Nov 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Two Australian men have been rescued, after spending several days stranded on an island without water, surrounded by crocodiles.
The men, 32 and 33, were rescued by locals yesterday, after becoming marooned on a mangrove island, when their boat sank.
The pair departed for a fishing trip on the crocodile-infested Daly River, more than 100 kilometres south-west of Darwin, in the Northern Territory (NT), on Thursday.
However, disaster struck shortly into the trip, when their boat hit a submerged object and sank within seconds.
Shaun Gill, an NT Police Support Division Superintendent, described the incident as the most “horrific” in his 30-year career.
“One male attempted to swim as fast as he could, and the other male stayed and tried to grab anything,” Gill told News Corp Australia, last night.
“While this happened, a crocodile tried to attack. It went for him, swam up towards him and he had to throw objects at it to keep alive.”
“There were a few times where the crocodile ducked under the water, while they were swimming. He thought they were going to get done.”
Having reached a nearby island, the men spent three days in extreme heat on its mud banks, without food, water or emergency beacons.
They resorted to drinking urine and licking water off leaves to survive, and made a “help” sign using the lid of a cooler.
According to the 9News, the pair were rescued yesterday by Shane Taylor and his friend.
They were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital and have since been released.
Gill said, the men were traumatised by the ordeal. “When they were located, they were completely dehydrated,” he said.
“It’s going to take them quite a while to get over this, but you know through level headed, through calm thinking and through a little bit of luck they’ve got out of this.”– NNN-AGENCIES
