[Faline]

Two men have been rescued from shark-infested waters in the Caribbean after spending more than a week clinging to their capsized boat.

The men, who are in their fifties, were thought to have been on a fishing trip when disaster struck.

The US Coast Guard was alerted after the crew of a passing ship spotted the pair sitting on top of their stricken vessel off of the Bahamas.

They were airlifted to safety after a two-hour search.

The men, who were sunburned and shaking, are reported to have shed tears of joy when rescue arrived.

Coast Guard rescue swimmer Kyle Stallings told the Sun Sentinel newspaper: "They were really exposed and really deteriorating quickly.

"They were both in tears. You could tell they were on their last straw of hope."

The pair are thought to have become so dehydrated that they resorted to drinking seawater.

One Coast Guard worker said the men, who were lying flat on the upturned vessel when they were found, were lucky to have been spotted in time.

[kellyhound]

damn, that's a small boat too and with feet dangling in shark infested water they were lucky they survived.