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CASTAWAY

Brit, 35, marooned on snake-infested island for two months and forced to forage for food due to coronavirus lockdown

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A BRIT has been left stranded on a remote snake-infested island for TWO MONTHS due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Natalie Poole, 35, is stuck on Kyun Pila, in Myanmar, with four others after the last boat off the island was suddenly cancelled.

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 Natalie Poole is stuck on Kyun Pila, in Myanmar, with four others
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Natalie Poole is stuck on Kyun Pila, in Myanmar, with four othersCredit: Facebook/Natalie Poole
 They share the remote island with scorpions, snakes, wild boar and lizards
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They share the remote island with scorpions, snakes, wild boar and lizardsCredit: Facebook/Natalie Poole

The volunteer worker, from Ashburton, Devon, said she and her fellow castaways are now taking things  "day by day".

For the last two months they have been forced to survive with hardly any aid in one of the world's most isolated locations.

They share the island with scorpions, snakes, wild boar and monitor lizards.

Natalie revealed: "The hardest thing for me has been not knowing how long we're going to be here.

"It's kind of up and down, we're a very small group of people and we're living in a very confined, close situation.

"In the back of our minds is obviously families back home and stuff, which adds to the tension a little bit.

"We're just trying to take things day by day."

 Natalie and her fellow castaways have been forced to survive with hardly any food
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Natalie and her fellow castaways have been forced to survive with hardly any foodCredit: Facebook/Natalie Poole
 They have built a forest camp with stuff that washes up on the beach
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They have built a forest camp with stuff that washes up on the beachCredit: Facebook/Natalie Poole

The volunteers headed to the remote island to help protect a coral reef for the Ocean Quest organisation.

They were due to be rescued on May 5 but then their boat was cancelled when Thailand extended its lockdown.

They are no waiting for news on when the next ship can get to them off the island which has been their home since March 19.

Natalie today posted on Facebook: "Please help me get home. There is a boat leaving here on Monday but they wont let me on the mainland without booked flight tickets home.

"There are no flights and rescue flights full or require you to buy tickets in person in Yangon (Myanmar).

"It is a 6 hour boat ride and a domestic flight to Yangon from here and most rescue flights being posted with only a few days notice.

"I can wait a little longer but then if the weather changes here, the boat journey could become impossible..... so complicated!"

Natalie - who is also a scuba instructor -   should now be back in Britain ahead of working as a summer school teacher.

Now the group have turned into real-life Robinson Crusoes by transforming their forest camp with bamboo and what washes up on the shore.

The camp is about a 15-minute dinghy ride away from Awei Pila, the only resort on the island, which has closed because of the outbreak.

They have been receiving a few food parcels to keep them going but only the bare minimum, Natalie revealed.

"We have to be very aware of how much we consume, we are eating very basic food and really having to make it last," she said.

To survive they have to forage for most of their food, including yams and jackfruit.

 

 

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