4 stowaways who survived 2 weeks at sea on a ship's rudder worried that if they made a noise, the ship's crew would find them and throw them into the sea

• Four Nigerian stowaways survived 14 days and 3,500 miles perched on a ship's rudder.
• They worried that if the crew found them, they'd be tossed into the sea, Reuters reported.

Four Nigerian stowaways who survived 14 days at sea on a ship's rudder worried that if they made a noise, the ship's crew would find them and throw them into the ocean.

The four men snuck onto the ship's rudder at a port in Lagos, Nigeria, hoping they'd wind up somewhere in Europe, Reuters reported. Two of the men told Reuters they wanted to escape the crime, poverty, and political instability of Nigeria.

But the 14-day, 3,500-mile journey landed them not in Europe, but in Vitoria, Brazil, according to Reuters.

One of the stowaways, 35-year-old Roman Ebimene Friday, told Reuters that throughout the harrowing voyage, he and his companions feared that if they made a peep, the crew would discover their hiding place — just feet above the churning ocean below.

"Maybe if they catch you they will throw you in the water," Friday told Reuters. "So we taught ourselves never to make a noise."

Friday told Reuters that at first he was also scared the other men — who he'd never met before — would throw him into the sea. After a fisherman dropped him off at the boat's rudder, Friday told Reuters he was surprised and terrified when he discovered he had shipmates.

The men survived the journey despite running out of food and water on their 10th day, and were rescued by authorities in Brazil, Reuters reported.

Friday and another shipmate decided to apply for asylum in Brazil, while the other two decided to go back to Nigeria, according to the outlet.