The US Navy and Coast Guard on April 9 launched a rescue operation to save three people stranded on a small Pacific island for more than a week after a surveillance plane spotted a distress message they had left on the sand.

The group had gone fishing on March 31 in the waters around Pikelot Atoll, part of the Federated States of Micronesia. However, their 6-meter-long boat was suddenly swept away by waves and its engine failed, drifting to the uninhabited Pikelot Island. The boat's communication system ran out of battery before they could send out a distress signal.