Real Life Castaway - Three Sailors Stranded on a Deserted Is

Not quite the tradition 'SOS', but these three certainly got their message across to search aircraft.
It's unclear whether these sailors knew the island of Fanadik was uninhabited or not, but when their skiff capsized just a few hundred meters from shore this week, they had no choice by to swim to shore and wait for rescue.

No, this is not an image taken from the set of Castaway 2, three sailors were rescued in Micronesia by a local fishing vessel and the help of a P8-A Poseiden aircraft, after writing the word 'HELP' with palm leaves on the beach. Their 19ft skiff capsized offshore at night, so the only option was to swim to the nearby shore and seek help, but the island of Fanadik, only 4nm from where the trio departed is completely uninhabited! Luckily, it didn't take long to find out there was nobody on the island, it's only 150m wide!

Stationed in Japan at the time, a P8-A Poseidon search and rescue aircraft was dispatched when their family raised the alarm. Quickly locating them on the beach, thanks to their huge sign written in palm leaves, the aircraft contacted a local fishing boat who picked them up and returned them home.

So in case you were wondering, yes, it is possible to be stranded on a deserted island with today's technology. You just get found quicker!