THE CARIBBEAN

KETCHUP, GARLIC POWDER HELPS MAN SURVIVE AT SEA FOR 24 DAYS

KETCHUP, GARLIC POWDER HELPS MAN SURVIVE AT SEA FOR 24 DAYS
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Avellon Williams 

DOMINICA- Officials say a Dominica man lost at sea for almost a month survived by eating ketchup, garlic powder, and Maggi seasoning cubes.

During his 24 days out in the Caribbean, Elvis Francois consumed rainwater he scooped up with a cloth.

Colombian authorities said the 47-year-old lost his boat off St. Martin in the Netherlands Antilles in December after currents pushed it out to sea while repairing it.

I called my friends, they tried to contact me, but I lost the signal. There was nothing else to do but sit and wait,” Francois explained in a video released by the Colombian Navy.

Using a mirror as a signal and writing the word “help” on the boat’s hull, he was eventually spotted by a passing plane.

Navy officials said he was picked up by a container ship passing near Cartagena, about 120 nautical miles northwest.

/Image, NYP/

Francois says he had to constantly bail water out of the boat before he miraculously survived. According to him, he tried lighting a fire as a distress signal, but the attempt was unsuccessful.

“At some point I lost hope and thought about my family, but I thank the coast guard. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be telling the story,” Francois said. 

Following a medical checkup, Commander Carlos Urbano Montes said Francois was in good health but had lost some weight.

According to the navy, he was handed over to immigration officials after undergoing a medical check.

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Avellon Williams

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