On their tenth day at sea, the four Nigerian stowaways crossing the Atlantic in a tiny space above the rudder of a cargo ship ran out of food and drink.
Reuters said they survived another four days by drinking the sea water crashing just meters below them before being rescued by Brazilian federal police in the southeastern port of Vitoria.
Their incredible, life-or-death ocean voyage across about 5,600 kilometres (3,500 miles) highlights the hazards that some migrants are willing to accept in exchange for a better life.
Speaking in an interview at a Sao Paulo church shelter, one of the four Nigerians, Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, said it was a terrible experience for me.
"On board, it is not easy. I was shaking, so scared. But I'm here."
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Their surprise at being saved quickly gave way to relief.
The four men claimed they had wanted to travel to Europe and were astounded to discover they had arrived in Brazil, on the other side of the Atlantic.
Since then, two of the men—Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, a 35-year-old from Bayelsa state—have been sent back to Nigeria at their request; in contrast, Yeye has requested refuge in Brazil.
"I pray the government of Brazil will have pity on me," said Friday, who had previously tried to leave Nigeria by ship but was stopped by police there.
Both men said they had no choice but to leave their native Nigeria due to economic difficulties, political unrest, and crime.
The most populous nation in Africa has long-standing challenges with poverty and crime, and kidnappings are commonplace.
According to Yeye, a Pentecostal preacher from Lagos state, the floodwaters this year destroyed his family's farm that produced peanuts and palm oil.
He believes they will now accompany him to Brazil.
On June 27, a fisherman buddy rowed him up to the stern of the Ken Wave, which was docked in Lagos, and left him near the rudder, according to Friday.
He was shocked to see three men waiting for the ship to leave when he arrived. Friday reported feeling afraid.
He had never met his new shipmates and was afraid that at any minute, they would throw him overboard.
Once the ship moved, Friday said the four men made every effort not to be discovered by the ship's crew, which they also worried might offer them a watery grave.
