3 Indonesians stranded in Palau<\/p>\n
KOROR, Palau: Three Indonesians in a narrow, seven-meter
\noutrigger canoe used to taxi people between islands in Indonesia
\nwashed ashore here after 10 days in the open ocean with nothing
\nto eat or drink but a few drifting coconuts, authorities said on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
All three are recovering well at a hospital in Angaur, the
\nsouthernmost, sparsely populated main island of Palau, where they
\nwashed ashore, more than 480 kilometers from their starting
\npoint.<\/p>\n
The eldest passenger, identified by authorities as 52-year-old
\nMariones Sasoeng, was dehydrated and had to be given fluids
\nintravenously. A resident had found them wandering on the beach.<\/p>\n
\"They were in bad shape,\" said Jonathan Rafael, the husband of
\nthe nurse caring for the three castaways.<\/p>\n
Only planning to travel between islands, they had no fishing
\ngear, and they failed to get any rain, which they could have
\ncaught for drinking.<\/p>\n
According to the account relayed through a translator, the
\ncanoe's makeshift engine failed while they were traveling from
\nthe island of Raenes to the island of Tabang on May 16, typically
\nan hour-long trip.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old boat operator, identified as Kamurahan
\nSasoeng, attempted to fix the engine but the wind soon pushed
\nthem far out to sea. By the time the engine was repaired, no land
\nwas in sight.<\/p>\n
\"They had one liter of gas left,\" said Joe Giramur, a senior
\nofficer with the Palau Bureau of Immigration.<\/p>\n
Coming strong from the southwest, the wind carried them to
\nAngaur, threading a nautical needle by finding a dot of land in
\nthe ocean.<\/p>\n
\"They were very lucky,\" said Benito Thomas, Palau's director
\nof immigration.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/3-indonesians-stranded-in-palau-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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