Four sailors from a missing cargo ship were found alive after clinging to styrofoam iceboxes and floating in the sea for four days.
The four sailors - Rusiyadi, Muhammad Ajim, Ansori, and Ali Sabibi - were on board the vessel Zidane Express when they were hit by brute force waves off the coast of Indonesia last Friday.
The ship sank as a result of water entering through the ship's exhaust, it then lost radio contact before sinking in the sea between Saobi Island and Sabuntan Island in the East Java Province.
The crew members were reported missing with their ship as many feared the worst, that they had drowned.
A full-out search and rescue operation was launched by coast guards and the four crew members of the ship were found drifting in the Bali Sea on Monday afternoon.
The canny sailors used a rope to make a life raft using empty iceboxes before they plunged into the ocean. The speedy thinkers also crammed some of their belongings, fresh supplies of water and dried food into the boxes.
National Search and Rescue Agency coordinator Wahyu Setya Budi said: "The four men were found safely about 63 miles from Boom Beach Banyuwangi and 61 miles from Sapeken Madura Harbor."
Budi said that local fishermen also helped search for the missing crew, who once found were then taken to the mainland for medical treatment.
Budi said the rescued seamen who were evacuated to Sapeken Island have received medical assistance and are now returning to their families.
He continued: "They used the styrofoam ice boxes to stay afloat in the sea. They took fresh water with them and used it sparingly between them."
The Zidane Express ship departed from Boom Beach in Banyuwangi to Sapeken Island in Madura, East Java Province on May 26. It was due to return two days later and its absence prompted locals to report the ship as missing.
Hari Adi Purnomo, Head of the Surabaya SAR Office, said the rescue was launched shortly after the ship was confirmed missing.
He said local fishermen and other small vessels in the area were also alerted and ordered to keep a lookout for the men.
The rescue chief said: "The KN SAR 234 team and an operational team from the Sumenep SAR Alert Unit departed from Kalianget pier, Sumenep Regency, to conduct a search with an area of about 345 nautical miles.
"We also informed several parties such as BP Migas, Maleo Drilling in the south of Sapudi Island and KEI Drilling."
