A Man’s Story Survived 24 Days Adrift at Sea because of Tomato Sauce

Elvis Francois, a 47-year-old man, was finally rescued after being tossed around ocean for 24 days. He survives by consuming ketchup on his sailboat.

“I didn’t have food. There was only a bottle of tomato sauce on board, garlic powder and (bouillon cubes) Maggi. So I mixed it with water to survive 24 days at sea,” said Francois.

Reported AFP, Friday (20/1), Francois was rescued by the Colombian Navy. He scrawled a message reading ‘HELP’ on his boat’s barn and was found drifting in waters 120 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Bolivar, La Guajira.

Francois admitted that he had done various ways to be saved. From starting a fire on the ship, and making other signals from the glass.

“In the last days, around January 15, I saw an airplane. I had a mirror. I made some signals,” he said, describing how he tilted the glass to catch the sunlight and attract attention.

Luckily there was a plane that read the ‘signal’ Francois. He was happy to finally be rescued

“They (planes-ed) passed the ship twice so I realized they saw me. I am grateful to be alive at this time because of them,” said Francois.

According to Francois, the crew of the plane notified the Colombian Navy, which then carried out a rescue operation against Francois with the help of a merchant ship.

“24 days, no land. No one to talk to. Don’t know what to do. Don’t know where you are. It was hard. There were moments I lost hope. I thought about my family,” he said.