A man identified as Mikhail Pichugin was rescued in the Russian Far East after 67 days at sea, but his brother and nephew did not survive. Authorities are investigating the incident.
A man was rescued from the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia’s Far East after survived for more than two months in a small inflatable boat without a motor, officials said Tuesday.
The Russian national was rescued Monday local time by a fishing boat off the Kamchatka Peninsula, the prosecutor’s office said.
The authorities have not officially given the name of the survivor or that of the two members of his family who perished on the same boat.
However, Russian media identified him as Mikhail Pichugin, 46, who had embarked on a whale-watching trip in the Sea of Okhotsk in early August with Sergei, his 49-year-old brother And his 15 year old nephew Ilia.
Their bodies were reportedly found in the boat when the fishing vessel rescued Pitchougine.
According to media reports, the three men visited the Shantar Islands, off the northwest coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, the body of water that separates Russia from Japan, in early August.
They were reported missing after failing to return to Sakhalin Island on August 9. Emergency services were unable to locate them at that time.
According to Russian media, the three men had a small ration of food and around 20 liters of water when their engine failed and they found themselves adrift.
Mr. Pitchugine weighed only around fifty kilograms when he was foundhaving lost half his weight, according to media reports.
He did not immediately say how he managed to survive in the Sea of Okhotsk, East Asia’s coldest sea known for its gales, or how his brother and nephew died.
When the fishing vessel’s crew spotted the tiny inflatable boat on their radar, they initially thought it was a buoy or a piece of scrap metal, the national press reported, but they turned on the projector to make sure and was shocked to see Pitchougine.
A video released by the prosecutor’s office shows an emaciated man wearing a life jacket and desperately shouting “Come here” as the crew struggles to bring him back to safety.
“I have no more strength,” Mr. Pitchougine said as he was taken to safety.
Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into the incident for violating safety rules that led to the deaths.
Additional sources • adaptation: Serge Duchêne