Three men stranded on a deserted Pacific island after their vessel stopped running, spelled “HELP” on a beach using palm fronds, leading to their rescue.

Search and rescue mission coordinator Lieutenant Chelsea Garcia reported that the trio was discovered Sunday on Pikelot Atoll by a United States Navy aircraft, adding that the “HELP” sign was a crucial factor in their discovery.

“This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location,” she said.

The aircraft crew dropped survival packages, and rescuers one day later dropped a radio which the mariners used to communicate that they were in good health, had access to food and water, and that the motor on their six-meter skiff was no longer working.

On Tuesday morning a ship rescued the trio and their equipment, returning them to Polowat Atoll, the Coast Guard said.

In August 2020, three Micronesian sailors also stranded on Pikelot were rescued after Australian and US warplanes spotted a giant “SOS” they had scrawled on the beach.

The trio, all experienced mariners in their 40s, became stranded on a lonely island after setting off from Micronesia’s Polowat Atoll on 31 March in their motor-powered skiff which subsequently experienced damage.

They were reported missing last Saturday by a woman who told the US Coast Guard her three uncles never returned from Pikelot Atoll, a tiny island in the remote Western Pacific.