Ask a trainer what beverage you should drink to rehydrate after a strenuous workout, and they may suggest coconut water. Not only does it quench your thirst, but it provides your body with electrolytes like potassium and fuel in the form of sugar.
For three people who were stranded on an uninhabited island in the Bahamas, it did a lot more than that: it kept them alive.
NBC News reports that the U.S. Coast Guard rescued two men and a woman from a chain of islands between the Florida Keys and Cuba on Tuesday after they were spotted waving a large makeshift flag by a helicopter crew on a routine air patrol the day before.
The Coast Guard dropped food, water, and a radio to the group but were unable to rescue them until the following day due to weather issues.
The three people, whose boat capsized, are originally from Cuba. They shared that they swam to the island for shelter and lived off of coconuts, conch, and rats until their rescue, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“I cannot recall a time that we saved people who were stranded for over a month on an island. That is a new one for me,” U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Murray said of the rescue.
Aircraft Commander Mike Allert said that the group appeared “in dire straits due to a lack of fresh water on the island” when they were rescued, and appeared dehydrated and fatigued.
The trio was transported to the Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West. The Coast Guard reports that they did not have serious injuries.
It is unclear if the three were fishermen lost at sea or migrants trying to make it to the United States.
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