Russian Man Rescued After Surviving 67 Days Adrift In Stormy Sea
8 months ago 2 min read
A Russian identified as Mikhail Pichugin, was miraculously rescued after spending over two months adrift in the treacherous Sea of Okhotsk, officials said on Tuesday.
Authorities said the man was rescued by a fishing vessel off the Kamchatka Peninsula on Monday, however, his brother and nephew could not survive the ordeal.
The 46-year-old had set out in early August to watch whales in the Sea of Okhotsk together with his 49-year-old brother and 15-year-old nephew.
However, their journey took a tragic turn when they went missing and despite extensive search efforts, authorities were unable to locate them.
The bodies of the deceased were reportedly found in the boat when the Angel fishing vessel rescued Pichugin.
Russian media reported that the trio had a small food ration and about 5.2 gallons of water when their engine failed and they found themselves adrift.
Pichugin only weighed around 110lbs when he was found, having lost half of his body weight, news reports said.
He did not immediately say how he had managed to survive in the Sea of Okhotsk, the coldest sea in East Asia and known for its gales, or how his brother and nephew died.
When the crew of the fishing vessel spotted the tiny inflatable boat on their radar, they initially thought it was a buoy or a piece of junk, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper said, but they turned on the spotlight to make sure and were shocked to see Pichugin.
A video released by the prosecutor’s office showed an emaciated man in a life jacket desperately shouting “Come here!” and the crew working to pull him to safety.
“I have no strength left,” he said as he was rescued.
Prosecutors said they have launched an investigation into the incident on charges of violation of safety rules that resulted in deaths.
