Seychelles

After a storm, eight people were stranded for several days on a small island in the Seychelles, because the sand had moved.

The island is a nature reserve with a single beach where boats can land. During the southeast monsoon, wind, waves and currents carry the sand away, and the beach can shrink day by day until rock and coral lie exposed.

After the storm, the beach was so rocky that no boat could be launched safely. They had to wait. When the winds turn, the sand starts moving back.