How 11 Indonesian fishermen were rescued after being left stranded by Cyclone Ilsa

Eleven fishermen stranded on an island hundreds of kilometres from civilisation. Six days without food and water. One unbelievable tale of survival.

When Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa slammed into Rowley Shoals, 300 kilometres west of Broome, two Indonesian fishing boats were caught in its path.

One boat, the Putri Jaya — with at least nine Indonesian fishermen on board — sank, the men feared drowned, while another boat, the Express 1, survived the storm before running aground on Bedwell Island.

Indonesian search and rescue authorities have told the ABC that one man survived for 30 hours using a jerry can to keep himself afloat, before floating to the island with the others.

If not for an Australian Border Force (ABF) plane conducting planned surveillance days later, their story may never have been told.

On Monday, ABF officers on the plane noticed the 11 survivors in distress, before diverting an Australian Maritime Safety Authority aircraft to investigate.

They found a makeshift camp and called in an emergency team from PHI Aviation who, by Monday afternoon, had dispatched a helicopter from Broome.

The fact the fishermen survived for so long was "remarkable", according to PHI Aviation's search and rescue expert Gordon Watt.

"Untold, unimaginable fear I'd imagine is what they would have experienced," he told the ABC.

"That must have been really difficult for them — it's a really remote area.

"Often, when we go to conduct rescues, it's fewer people — only one or two people we're looking to recover — and the fact they were there for so long is remarkable."

It was too sandy to land the helicopter and, with night falling and visibility fading, time was running out.

"They had to conduct winch recoveries which, in itself, is a challenging task," Mr Watt said.

"The time of day meant that nightfall was upon the crew during the rescue, so they had to transition to using night vision goggles to [detect any] image in the dark.

"It was apparent [that], using the onboard sensors on the aircraft, the team was able to identify that the survivors were signalling they needed water and refreshments."

After being rescued and returned to Broome, they were checked at Broome Hospital, with ABF reporting the men were in good health, despite their ordeal.

Their families back home in the small Indonesian villages of Papela and Daiama on Rote Island are anxious for any news.

Poverty made worse by the pandemic is helping to fuel a surge in Indonesian fishing boats illegally entering Australian waters. But the deaths of nine fishermen earlier this year has raised fears that more Indonesians will drown in Australian waters.

The head of Daiama village, Heber Laores Ferroh, told the ABC the missing fishermen included his nephew and uncle, who was captaining his boat.

He said no-one had heard from their loved ones and he was utterly shocked at the possibility of them disappearing, after losing a family member of his own in similar circumstances in 1991.

"I know all of these people closely, I was close to six of them … they all have small children waiting at home.

"We're all neighbours. We live very close to each other.

"I'm just very, very sad, that the people close to me have to experience this."

In a statement, the ABF said the surviving group would be repatriated as soon as practicable, once legislative and welfare requirements are met.

WA Fisheries Minister Don Punch said authorities had been intercepting a growing number of illegal fishing boats in Australian waters since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The simple message is don't come," he said.

"People won't know you're there, border force will eventually pick up you are there, you run the risk of losing your boat and your livelihood.

"For those people who have families in Indonesia, you really have to question whether it's worth the risk."

Mr Punch said the issue was a federal government responsibility, but WA would support border force where necessary.

"We don't have powers of being able to board vessels, the Commonwealth do, so we don't have any enforcement powers," he said.

"We will certainly be doing everything we can to share information in support to assist the Commonwealth in carrying out that responsibility."

Select "Western Australia Top Stories" from either the ABC News homepage or the settings menu in the app.

Here's some of the latest local reads from WA 📰

Search any location in Australia to find nearby active incidents

Stay up-to-date with local coverage on ABC Radio, the emergency broadcaster