After a harrowing ordeal, a group of Australian surfers has safely returned home following a daunting 38 hours lost at sea.
The incident happened Sunday, when their boat was struck by a powerful storm off the coast of Sumatra, a remote region of Indonesia, CNN reported.
By Tuesday morning, the group of surfers from Australia — Steph Weisse, Will Teagle, Jordan Short and Elliot Foote, along with two unidentified Indonesian nationals — were spotted gripping onto their surfboards. The surf trip began as a celebration of Foote’s 30th birthday.
"There were some moments out there where we were quite nervous and didn’t quite know what the outcome was going to be, but we just banded together," Foote said in a video obtained by CNN.
Following their rescue, the surfers expressed their gratitude for being back on dry land and thanked the Indonesian and Australian governments for coordinating the rescue efforts, and Teagle said he was “so stoked to be alive.”
Unfortunately, not all surfers made it back. Efforts are still underway to find a missing Indonesian crew member who remains unaccounted for.
"It’s hard to think about; we just hope the best for him, his family and friends, and his village," said Foote.
The group is now asking for time and privacy to recover and rest.
