Benjamin Ng was swept out to sea with his partner Pei whilst paddle boarding (Picture: Facebook)

A couple was forced to tread water for three days in the middle of the ocean after passing boats ignored them screaming for help.

Benjamin Ng and his partner Pei, from Brisbane, Australia, were swept out to sea whilst paddle boarding around North West Island, off the coast of Central Queensland, last Saturday.

It wasn’t until the following Monday that the pair were saved by fisherman Lorne Benussi and his dad Dennis- 55km away from shore.

However the couple saw at least four boats sail past them, all of which missed their cries for help, Daily Mail Australia reports.

Thankfully the Benussi’s heard their cries as they were getting ready for bed.

They rushed into their smaller boat to retrieve the couple who had lost their paddles in the waves shortly beforehand.

Mr Benussi told the Daily Mail: ‘The poor buggers had no energy, they were completely exhausted. They couldn’t even sit up.’

He added he had reached the couple just in time, as they appeared to be close to going under as help arrived.

The couple were dehydrated and could ‘barely sit up’ after being rescued (Picture: Facebook)

‘It was very fortunate they floated towards the coast otherwise it would be a completely different news story.’

The pair were then ill throughout the night, suffering from dehydration and having ingested too much salt water.

Mr Ng also ‘barely ate anything’ and ‘chucked up’ most of the water he drank.

The Benussi’s heard the couple’s cries whilst they were settling down to bed on their fishing boat (Picture: Supplied)

Due to low tides and poor phone reception, Mr Benussi waited until the morning to take the couple back to land.

The couple had arrived at North West Island, an off-grid site, for a three-night camping trip.

No one called the police to report their disappearance as they were not set to return from their trip until Tuesday.

Mr Benussi was anchored at Yellow Patch on Curtis Island when the couple drifted past (Picture: Google Maps)

His boat arrived at the Keppel Bay Marina in Yeppoon at 11 am on Tuesday.

The couple was taken by ambulance to Capricorn Coast Hospital and are said to be in a stable condition. 

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

‘The poor buggers had no energy, they were completely exhausted. They couldn’t even sit up.’