Russian man rescued after spending 67 days adrift
A Russian man has been rescued after spending over two months adrift in a small inflatable boat in the Sea of Okhotsk in far eastern Russia.
Officials identified the man as Mikhail Pichugin, 46, who was located by a fishing crew nearly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from his departure point in early August. Tragically, the bodies of his brother and 15-year-old nephew were reportedly found on the boat.
Mr. Pichugin’s wife shared that the trio had gone out to watch whales, taking enough food supplies for two weeks. She mentioned to Russia’s state-run Ria Novosti news agency that his weight might have played a role in his survival; he was 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) when he embarked on the trip and reportedly weighed only half that when rescued 67 days later.
“We don’t know anything yet. We just know that he’s alive… It’s some kind of miracle!” she told the agency.
She also revealed that their daughter was initially supposed to join the ill-fated trip but chose to return home instead.
According to Ria, a helicopter search had found no sign of the trio after they were reported missing.
The boat was discovered on Monday as it drifted past a fishing vessel in the Sea of Okhotsk, off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia.
A bearded man in a life jacket is seen shouting at the fishermen: “I have no strength left,” as he is taken to safety, in a video posted by the prosecutor’s office.
He was named by Ria as 46-year-old Mikhail Pichugin. The bodies of his brother Sergei, 49, and nephew Ilya, were still on the boat.
As to how he was able to survive for so long in the Sea of Okhotsk – the coldest in East Asia – a representative from the far eastern branch of the Russian seafarers’ union suggested a supply of fish may have played a part.
Nikolai Sukhanov, told Ria Novosti in such a situation you can survive by catching fish while eking out whatever provisions are left on the boat.
Mr Pichugin is now recovering in hospital, where he is described as being in a “more or less stable” condition by doctors.
Prosecutors have said they are launching a criminal investigation, with the small boat being inspected and investigators trying to establish the circumstances into the incident.
It is not the first time that castaways have been found after many days adrift – an expert told the Ria Novosti four Soviet soldiers had survived 49 days on a small boat in the Pacific Ocean in 1960, before being picked up by a US aircraft carrier.
