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The men said 18 other people were on board a 10-metre wooden fishing vessel when the boat sank, Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Tracey Jiggins said.
"They said when it sank they all went into the water and they didn't have any floatation device," she said.
"It's remarkable that they survived, and that they were spotted by Coastwatch who were on a routine flight over the Torres Strait.
"Given that they have been in the water 25 days, our Rescue Coordination Centre Australia has made an assessment that they would not be able to survive for that period of time without any form of a flotation device," she said.
Ms Jiggins did not know what food the pair had or what they did while inside the ice box. News Ltd reported the men survived by drinking rain water that gathered at the bottom of the box and by eating pieces of fish that were also in the container.
The pair could not say exactly where the boat sank, Ms Jiggins said.
"They said when it sank they all went into the water and they didn't have any floatation device," she said.
"It's remarkable that they survived, and that they were spotted by Coastwatch who were on a routine flight over the Torres Strait.
"Given that they have been in the water 25 days, our Rescue Coordination Centre Australia has made an assessment that they would not be able to survive for that period of time without any form of a flotation device," she said.
Ms Jiggins did not know what food the pair had or what they did while inside the ice box. News Ltd reported the men survived by drinking rain water that gathered at the bottom of the box and by eating pieces of fish that were also in the container.
The pair could not say exactly where the boat sank, Ms Jiggins said.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/20/1232213549801.html
