Colombia: Castaway on unmanned boat survives 24 days at sea by eating ketchup and cooking cubes

A total of 24 days at sea, on a rudderless sailboat in Caribbeana 47-year-old man passed by, before finally being rescued.

Elvis Francois, spotted 120 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Bolivar in Colombiawhen a plane saw the word “help” emblazoned on the boat it was onthe press office of the Colombian navy reported.

Elvis Francois stated that he lived through all these days eating ketchup, garlic powder and cooking cubes. He was collecting rainwater, with a cloth to drink from. At the same time, however, he had to constantly throw away the water collected in the boat, in order not to sink.

“I had no food. In the boat there was only a bottle of ketchup, garlic powder and vegetable cubes and I mixed them with some water,” Francois said in a video provided by the Colombian military.

Francois, from the Dominican Republic, said he was doing repairs on the boat near the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin in December, when adverse weather conditions drifted his boat out to sea.

He said that he had no knowledge of navigation and was unable to return his boat back to shore as a result of which he spends weeks at sea.

“I called my friends, they tried to contact me, but I lost the signal. There was nothing else for me to do but sit and wait,” he said shipwrecked.

At one point, he tried to light a fire to send a distress signal, without success. Finally, a plane flew overhead and he tried to signal with a mirror.

“Twenty-four days – no land and no one to talk to. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know where I was. It was difficult”, he said and added that “at some point I lost hope. I was thinking about my family.”

After was rescuedwas taken to the port of Cartagena, where he received medical attention and was later handed over to immigration authorities for repatriation, Colombian officials said.