In distress at sea: The "Ketchup Guy" receives a boat as a gift from Heinz

• Man claims to have survived 24 days at sea thanks to ketchup stash

Following the hair-raising story of the rescue of Elvis, who is from the island of Dominica, the ketchup giant set out on social media to find the man and give him a new boat. In several posts, the company announced that it had already contacted the Colombian coastguard, the government on Dominica and "various Elvis impersonators" in an attempt to find Elvis, but had so far been unsuccessful.

But now a reporter from the media company Emo News is said to have located Elvis on Dominica and posted a photo of himself and Elvis on a beach. Heinz has now confirmed that he has found him and will soon be giving him a "state of the art" boat to replace his ship free of charge. Elvis had drifted off in an unclear way while working on his boat and by the time he realised, he was so far from the coast that he was unable to find his way back without further navigational aids and knowledge. He drifted through the Caribbean Sea for 24 days before the Colombian coastguard picked him up. He had painted "Help" on his deck.

The story went viral in the media and on social media, and the Heinz company became aware of it because the rescued man claimed to have subsisted on garlic powder, water and a bottle of Heinz ketchup for 24 days. Elvis became a minor internet celebrity as the "Ketchup Guy".

• Man claims to have survived 24 days at sea thanks to ketchup stash

More about distress at sea:

• Catamaran sinks due to defective emergency exit hatches
• Deadly drama on the fjord
• 70-year-old solo sailor rescued from hurricane