4 Nigerian stowaways drank seawater to survive 2 weeks at sea on the rudder of a ship — and when they looked down, they saw whales and sharks below them

• Four Nigerian stowaways traveled for 14 days and 3,500 miles on the top of a ship's rudder.
• One of the men told Reuters when he looked down at the sea, he saw whales and sharks swimming below.

Four Nigerian stowaways survived two weeks at sea on the rudder of a ship by drinking salt water — and when they looked down, they saw whales and sharks just feet below them, Reuters reported.

The four men snuck onto the ship's rudder at a port in Lagos, Nigeria, hoping the 3,500-mile journey would land them in Europe, according to the news outlet. Instead, they docked 14 days later in Vitoria, Brazil.

After they ran out of food and water on the 10th day at sea, the men resorted to drinking the salty water that splashed up from the sea just a few feet below, Reuters reported.

"It was a terrible experience for me," 38-year-old Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye told Reuters. "On board, it is not easy. I was shaking, so scared. But I'm here."

Perched atop the rudder and secured only by a rope, the men were barely able to sleep, Reuters reported. And when they looked down at the ocean roaring beneath them, they saw "big fish like whales and sharks," 35-year-old Roman Ebimene Friday told Reuters.

Two of the men told Reuters they were escaping crime, poverty, and political instability in their home country of Nigeria.

After being rescued by Brazilian authorities, Yeye and Friday decided to stay in Brazil and apply for asylum, according to Reuters. The other two men decided to go back to Nigeria.