A Dominican who got stranded at sea in Columbia has been gifted with a new boat after surviving on Heinz ketchup for 24 days. Elvis Francois, 47, was blown out to sea off the island of St. Martin in December, and was found by a Columbian Navy patrol plane 120 nautical miles northwest of La Guajira in Columbia before being rescued.
For 24 days on the seas, Francois said he survived on ketchup, garlic powder, and Maggi cubes. The Columbian authorities took him to hospital after his rescue and found him to be in good health. He was then returned to Dominica where Heinz, an American canned food company, tracked him down to donate a new boat to him.
Heinz took some days before tracking Francois down. The company announced on its social media platforms for anyone that knew the whereabouts of the seaman to locate him. “We’ve hopped into your DMs – let’s get Elvis his boat!” the food process declared.
Francois said he was repairing his boat when he got swept out to sea by powerful currents. He said the network signal on his cellphone became lost as he drifted further out to the ocean and he was unable to reach his family or anyone else for help. Friends and family have expressed thanks to Heinz for reaching out to assist Francois after losing his fishing boat.
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