Stranded at sea for 8 days

Rescue from a harrowing ordeal, just in the nick of time

Stranded
(Image credit: (The U.S. Coast Guard))

On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard came to the aid of two Bahamians who were clinging to the slick underbelly of their overturned boat. The two unidentified men had reportedly been adrift without food or water for eight days.

It's unclear what exactly the two men were doing or where they were headed — though they were reportedly not trying to enter the U.S. illegally.

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Coast Guard rescue swimmer Kyle Stallings was the first to make physical contact, and with the help of the helicopter crew was able to hoist the two to safety using a rescue basket. "They were on their last ray of hope and they were ready to get off that boat," Stallings told CBS News. The men were visibly shaken, dehydrated, and clearly suffering from hypothermia. "You could see it in their skin, you could see it in their eyes, you could see it in their hands."

The men were airlifted to a Florida hospital and, once they are well, will reportedly have help returning home to the Bahamas.

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.