Man who survived on ketchup for 24 days at sea to get new boat – from Heinz

A man who spent 24 days lost at sea seemed to be missing again – but he has been tracked down after a massive social media hunt instigated by Heinz. 

The company, famous for its ketchup, plans to buy a new boat for the sailor who spent almost a month surviving on ketchup.

Its campaign to #FindTheKetchupBoatGuy quickly went viral and Elvis Francois was traced to Dominica.

Mr Francois, 47, was swept out to sea by powerful currents in December while making repairs to his boat.

He had no food – only a bottle of tomato ketchup. He also found garlic granules and seasoning cubes, and mixed the condiments with water to give him enough energy to survive.

After his rescue, Mr Francois described how he had “lost hope” while adrift in the Caribbean Sea off Colombia.

He had to constantly scoop out water from the boat to stop it sinking and tried to light a fire to send a distress signal, but without success.

He was eventually spotted from the air after scrawling the word “help” on the hull of the boat.

Posting on Instagram about its search for Mr Francois, Heinz said it received “thousands of likes, shares, and messages of kindness”.

“It was an incredible group effort across six continents that led to the hundreds of articles and leads and our eventual contact with Elvis.”

In a statement to Sky News, a spokesperson for Heinz said the company was able to make contact with Mr Francois thanks to local Dominica reporters at Emonews.

They were able to “discuss the best way to help support him and his family”, the spokesperson said.

They did not reveal details of the boat or when it will be delivered but said “Heinz and Elvis are working out the logistical details of gifting him his new boat”.