The US Coast Guard officials rescued three people on Tuesday from a deserted island between Florida and Cuba, who were cast away and stayed there for a month. They were living off by eating coconuts, conchs, and rats. The trio, hailing from Cuba, told the coast guards that their boat had capsized in rough waters and they managed to swim to Anguilla Cay, where they spent 33 days, reports the Associated Press. 

After 33 days, the coast guard aircrew spotted the men and a woman, who were waving makeshift flags on Monday, and dropped down a radio, food, and water for them. The coast guards rescued them off the island on Tuesday, reports CNN. 

The island is part of an atoll of the Bahamas, which is much closer to Cuba, and is monitored by the US Coast Guard for the stranding of refugees trying to reach the United States.  

Lt Riley Beecher, a Coast Guard pilot who spotted the trio, said, “I thought ‘let’s take a closer look.’ I had never seen anything on that island.” He added that he spotted two people waving their hands, trying the coast guards to rescue them, reports AP. 

Lt Justin Dougherty told CNN affiliate WPLG, “It was incredible. I don’t know how they did it. I was amazed they were in as good as shape as they were.”

“They had lost track of exactly what day it was,” Dougherty said, reports AP. 

He said that the coconut kept the Cubans hydrated, as they also ate the meat of conchs and rats. 

On Tuesday morning, the trio was rescued, and taken to a hospital with no serious injuries, from where they were taken into custody by the US Border Patrol. They were then sent to a facility in Pompano Beach, the official said. 

It is not clear whether they were trying to enter into the US or were just lost at sea, officials said. Immigration officials did not immediately say that they would be deported.

“To see the relief in their face when you have given them some hope is pretty awesome and fulfilling,” Lt Beecher said, AP reports.