Elvis Francois, a 47-year-old man who was rescued after being stranded on a boat for 24 days in the Caribbean sea, said he survived by eating ketchup and other random items he found.
“I had no food. It was just a bottle of ketchup that was on the boat, garlic powder and Maggi (seasoning) so I mixed it up with some water,” Francois said in a video shared by the navy, Vibe reports.
Francois said severe weather dragged him into the sea while he was fixing his boat near Saint Martin island in December. That’s when the 47-year-old lost track of where he is and struggled to return to the shore. Due to lack of service, Francois said he was unable to call anybody.
The sailor said he constantly removed water from his boat to prevent it from sinking. He also used fire to try to send a distress signal, but he was unsuccessful.
The Dominican man was saved after a pilot, who was flying near the area, noticed the word “help” written on the boat. Emergency personnel then rushed to rescue Francois.
“Twenty four days – no land, nobody to talk to. Don’t know what to do, don’t know where you are. It was rough,” Francois said. “At a certain time, I lose hope. I think about my family.”
