Two fishos stranded in a tree for two days after their boat sank before being rescued by helicopter hired by their boss

UPDATE: Two fishos who clung to a tree for two days after their boat upturned on the South Alligator River, were being circled by a croc, their rescuers CareFlight have said

Two fishos' boss chartered a flight to find them after they didn’t return from a fishing trip. CareFlight later flown them to hospital. Picture: Supplied. Picture: CareFlight

A FIRE extinguisher saved the lives of two fishos after their boat sank in the croc-infested South Alligator River, leaving them stranded up a tree for two days fighting off insects and the elements.

What was meant to be Jordan Kelsey’s and Jake Williams’ first run in a newly-bought second hand boat turned into a nightmare, after rising tides filled the boat, washing away their food and water supplies and their EPIRB device.

As the pair desperately attempted to stop the boat from sinking, one of the men fell into the water twice, leaving him bruised and grazed and at the mercy of the large crocs which lurked beneath.

As Mr Kelsey and Mr Williams tried to salvage the boat they at one stage saw a 3.5m crocodile scouring the waters below them.

The two fishos left on their trip on Monday and when they failed to show for work on Tuesday their boss set about organising a search.

Chartering a helicopter to search for fishos, he saw foam being sprayed from the fire extinguisher the men saved from the vessel as it sank

Park rangers and the pair’s friends rescued them in their own boats before CareFlight was called, tending to the men at the South Alligator River boat ramp.

CareFlight flight nurse Jayne Sheppard was one of the nurses on scene and said the two men, in their 20s, looked “the worst I’d ever seen”.

“They were severely dehydrated, they hadn’t drunk for two days so you can imagine in this heat what that’s like,” she said.

“They were covered in bites. Between the sand flies and the mosquitoes their legs were really swollen, they had bites all over them.

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“They were in a lot of pain and obviously quite distressed and relieved at the same time at being back on solid ground … the worst I’ve ever seen.”

The men were very emotional after being rescued, admitting to Ms Sheppard they feared the worst.

“He said ‘we do have those thoughts, we went through your last thoughts and your hopes and your dreams.’ It’s pretty full on,” she said.

“They were pretty fatigued when we got to them, on the 40-minute flight they fell asleep in the helicopter which sort of is an indication, if you’ve got adrenaline and are able to fall asleep in a helicopter you’re pretty tired.”

Mr Kelsey and Mr Williams were treated at Royal Darwin hospital where they were greeted by family and friends on their safe arrival, before being discharged home about 9.30 Wednesday night