MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian man was rescued in the stormy Sea of Okhotsk after surviving more than two months in a small inflatable boat that lost its engine, but his brother and cousin died, officials said Tuesday.
Prosecutors in Russia’s far east said the man was rescued by a fishing vessel off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula on Monday.
The survivor was not named, but Russian news reports identified him as 46-year-old Mikhail Pichugin, who went on a whale-watching trip in the Sea of Okhotsk with his 49-year-old brother and 15 in early August. year-old nephew. Their bodies were reportedly found in the boat when the fishing vessel rescued Angel Pichugin.
According to media reports, the three men traveled to the Shantar Islands off the northwestern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk in early August. They went missing while en route to Sakhalin Island on August 9. A rescue effort was made but they could not be located.
Russian media reported that the trio had a small ration of food and about 20 liters of water when their engine failed and they became adrift.
Pichugin weighed only about 100 pounds (50 kilograms) when he was found, having lost half his body weight, according to news reports.
He did not immediately say how he managed to survive in the Sea of Okhotsk, the coldest sea in East Asia and known for its storms, and how his brother and cousin died.
When the crew of the fishing vessel saw the small inflatable boat on their radar, they initially thought it was a buoy or a piece of junk, according to the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, but they turned on the spotlights to be sure and were shocked to see Pichugin . .
A video released by the public prosecutor showed an emaciated man in a life jacket desperately shouting: “Come here!” and the crew who worked to get him back to safety.
“I have no strength anymore,” Pichugin said as he was brought to safety.
Prosecutors said they have launched an investigation into the incident on charges of safety violations that led to deaths.
