Eleven Indonesian fishers, battered by the sheer fury of cyclone Ilsa, were plucked to safety from a remote island off Western Australia’s coast. For six grueling days, they had been shipwrecked without sustenance or hydration, their vessel destroyed by the merciless storm. The survivors’ ordeal began when cyclone Ilsa, a category five system, slammed into the Kimberley coast, unleashing catastrophic winds of up to 218 kilometers per hour.
The crew, comprising two vessels, each manned by ten fishers, had set out to sea, but the tempest proved too strong. The first vessel sank, taking nine lives with it. The second vessel, desperate to save at least one of its crew, managed to rescue one man before being swept ashore on Bedwell Island. The makeshift camp, comprising the beached boat and a small sandy island, was spotted by a surveillance flight late on a Monday, prompting the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to dispatch a rescue team.
Cyclone IlsaThe survivors, frail and exhausted, were flown to Broome for medical attention. They recounted their harrowing tale, reliving the horrors of being trapped at the mercy of the cyclone. “The vessel had sunk in the extreme conditions of the cyclone,” a spokesperson said, recounting the fishers’ story. “The remaining vessel managed to rescue the only survivor before being washed ashore on Bedwell Island.”
Cyclone Ilsa, a force to be reckoned with, had earlier tracked down the Kimberley coast before crossing it northwest of Port Hedland. The storm’s devastating impact was only made worse by its slow passage, allowing its intense winds and rains to wreak havoc on a broad swathe of the coastline. As the survivors huddled on the small island, awaiting rescue, the reality of their situation slowly dawned – nine of their comrades were likely lost at sea, their lives snuffed out by the cyclone’s unforgiving wrath.