A group of fishermen lost at sea for almost three days managed to survive by keeping their spirits up on board their life raft, before using a flare gun to attract rescuers.
The seven crew members were forced to abandon their ship, the Elite Navigator, on Wednesday after a small fire on the boat quickly turned into an inferno.
With little time to spare, the men climbed into a life raft and abandoned the burning ship.
Fishing boat captain Eugene Carter said: “Within five minutes we had seven men aboard a life raft and there was fire all around us.”
The fishing crew finally returned home on Saturday in a rescue people are calling a “miracle.”
When the crew returned home on Saturday, they were greeted by hundreds of jubilant townspeople.
The fishermen were embraced by their tearful relatives, who were certain they were dead.
After abandoning ship, the men were left with few resources as they drifted across the Atlantic.
Soon water supplies became scarce and the raft continued to drift away from land.
A fog bank soon formed that stretched for 15 nautical miles, obscuring the stranded fishermen and obstructing search efforts.
However, despite their dire circumstances, the crew managed to maintain a positive attitude, which played a pivotal role in their survival.
“We were just sitting there joking around with each other, using the microphone, interviewing each other with the flashlight, trying to keep our hopes up and all that,” Carter said. CBC.
Late on Friday night, the crew managed to attract the attention of a rescue helicopter when they fired a hand-held flare (their last).
“A portable red flare was detected, which directed us to a life raft,” the Canadian Coast Guard said in a Facebook post on Friday.
The New West Valley villagers attacked the fishermen, whom they believed had disappeared forever.
Despite their dire circumstances, the crew was able to maintain a positive attitude, which played a pivotal role in their survival.
Canadian fishermen who were lost at sea for nearly three days managed to survive by keeping their spirits up aboard their life raft.
For the fishermen, the hardest thing about being lost at sea was thinking about the pain and suffering their families were experiencing.
“The hardest thing was knowing we were alive and everyone here thinking otherwise,” said the Elite Navigator captain. CBC.
Llewellyn Howell, whose brother was one of the missing crew, said people who grow up in fishing communities are taught to expect the worst when it comes to incidents like these.
“The thing is, we thought there was no chance. No chance at all.”
When the crew returned to their hometown of New-Wes-Valley, a small fishing town in Newfoundland and Labrador, on Saturday, they were greeted by hundreds of jubilant residents.
The townspeople stood on the docks, overjoyed, holding balloons and banners hailing the return of their lost loved ones. The stunned citizens threw confetti into the air.
The fishermen were tearfully embraced by their families, who were certain they were dead.
The villagers rush to the dock to welcome the fishermen.
Crew members were greeted with welcome signs like this one.
As the crew approached shore in a Coast Guard rescue vessel, some intrepid community members came out to greet them in their own boats.
When Greg Pretty, president of the United Fishing, Food and Allied Workers Union, heard that the fishermen had been rescued, he was so relieved he could barely sleep.
“To see this come to a successful conclusion, as I suggested yesterday, is great news for this province and this entire country,” Pretty told the CBC.
On social media, Prime Minister Andrew Furey expressed his relief at the news of the rescue.
“Our entire province is very relieved to learn that the Elite Navigator crew members have been accounted for and are returning safely to their families who have been anxiously awaiting this good news,” he wrote.
The Prime Minister also made sure to thank the “dedicated people involved in the search and rescue effort.”
In addition to four coast guard vessels, a Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules aircraft were also sent for rescue operations.
Several local fishing boats also volunteered to assist in the search.
At a press conference on Saturday, Prime Minister Furey confirmed there were no injuries.
“They are all in good health and there are no obvious injuries,” he said, according to the report. CBC.
The seven crew members pictured here with their rescuers, the Canadian Coast Guard.
New-Wes-Valley is a small fishing town in Newfoundland and Labrador.
New-Wes-Valley Mayor Michael Tiller said the city breathed a sigh of relief after the rescue.
“As a human being, you always have in the back of your mind the fear that the worst will happen,” Tiller said.
“But when word started to spread (that they had been rescued), it was like a huge heavy blanket was lifted over the region and people were celebrating,” he said. CBC.
“This hits close to home for me because in a small town in Newfoundland, you know everyone. You know who they are, you know their parents, you know their relatives, you know the boat owners,” he said.
The triumphant mayor called the result a miracle.
“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” he said.
The crew members abandoned their ship, the Elite Navigator, after it caught fire.
Jordan Lee King, one of the missing crew members, was not surprised when the helicopter finally found them. The experienced fisherman was confident they would be rescued.
“I felt amazing, I couldn’t wait to get on board and have something to eat,” he said. “It’s good to be home.”
David Lee Tiller, another crew member, told the CBC that he felt lucky to be alive.
“I’d go fishing with all the boys again tomorrow, any day. But thanks to the big fish up there, we made it home alive,” Tiller said.