At sea, they ate fish that birds spat out

Two men who spent 25 days lost at sea in a giant icebox survived their ordeal thanks to rainwater from tropical storms and fish spat out by passing birds, a report said yesterday.

The men, who were rescued by helicopter on Saturday, are still being interviewed by Australian immigration officials, who are hoping to clarify how they came to be drifting in shark-infested waters off the country's northern coast.

The pair told The Sydney Morning Herald they drank only rainwater and ate small fish regurgitated by seabirds after their Thai fishing boat broke up, possibly in Indonesian waters, in huge waves on December 23.