MOSCOW, January 20 – Novosti. A Dominican on a sailing boat got lost in Colombian waters and survived 24 days on ketchup before being found by rescuers, the Colombian Navy said.
“I didn’t have food. There was only a bottle of ketchup, garlic powder and bouillon cubes. I mixed it all with a little water to survive those 24 days at sea,” Elvis François, 47, said in a video released by the Colombian Navy.
François was working on repairs to his sailboat on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin in December 2022 when the weather turned bad and he was swept out to sea, the Navy said. “Lacking any knowledge of navigation, he became lost and disoriented at sea. His efforts to maneuver the ship and equipment on board proved fruitless,” the report says.
According to François, other boats often sailed past him. The Dominican tried to stop them and even lit a fire on his ship, but no one saw him. As a result, the victim was noticed by the plane, which then gave the Colombian Navy a singhal.
A Dominican had the word “help” carved into the hull of a boat when it was discovered 120 nautical miles (222 kilometers) northwest of Puerto Bolívar.
