Missing Boaters Rescued From South Pacific Island After Carving 'SOS' in the Sand

— -- Two people stranded on an uninhabited Pacific island were rescued on Friday after writing "SOS" in the sand, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

After a seven-day search for the missing boaters by an international maritime team, a U.S. Navy aircraft crew spotted them on a beach near an "SOS" sign they had carved into the sand, the U.S. Coast Guard announced today.

The castaway pair had departed from Weno Island on Aug. 17 with "limited supplies and no emergency equipment on board" en route to Tamatam Island, Micronesia, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. The boaters hoped to arrive the next day, but never made it.

On Aug. 19, the U.S. Coast Guard's command center in Guam received a notification of the missing 18-foot boat.

The international team searched a total of 16,571 square miles.

The survivors, who have not been identified, were picked up by a patrol boat and transferred to Nomwin atoll.