Two fishermen named Antonio Sabino and Osorio Pires, reportedly from Neves in São Tomé and Principe, have been rescued in Bayelsa State after being lost in the Atlantic Ocean for five days.

The fishermen, rescued in the Brass council area of Bayelsa State, were initially picked up by a fishing trawler in the Gulf of Guinea and were handed over to fishermen from Okpoama on the Atlantic coast of Brass, who brought them ashore.

The two fishermen spoke only Portuguese and communicated with the Okpoama fishermen in sign language. They were visibly worried but were calmed down by the fishermen, who took them to the relevant authorities in the area.

The chairman of the Okpoama Kingdom Security Committee, Munalayefa William-Sinte, stated that the malnourished-looking men were clothed and fed before they were handed over to the police for proper action.

The fishermen were handed over to the Divisional Police Officer of Okpoama Division, CSP Ebimiesigha Bebetu.

The state’s police spokesman, SP Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident in a statement.

“ The Divisional Police Officer of Okpoama Division, Brass Local Government Area, has taken custody of two fishermen who were rescued by a captain of a fishing trawler at 50 nautical miles off the Atlantic Ocean on 2 July 2023,” Mr Butswat said.

“The two fishermen, Antonio Sabino ‘m’, 52 years, and Osorio Pires ‘m’, 41 years, from Neves in SaôTomē and Principe, got lost in the Atlantic Ocean for five days before being rescued by a trawler.

“The police authorities have established contact with a coast guard officer from Saô Tomē and Principe and are making a concerted effort to reunite them with their families,” he added.

São Toméand Principe is an island country in Central Africa in the Equator in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the second-smallest and second-least populous African sovereign state after Seychelles.

São Tomé’s closest neighbours are Gabon and Equatorial Guinea on the Atlantic coast of central Africa.