A man has been rescued in the Sea of Okhotsk after surviving for more than two months in a tiny inflatable boat that lost its engine, officials said.
The prosecutor’s office in the far east of Russia said the man was rescued by a fishing vessel off the Kamchatka Peninsula.
46-year-old Mikhail Pichugin et out in early August to watch whales in the Sea of Okhotsk together with his 49-year-old brother and 15-year-old nephew. Their bodies were reportedly found in the boat when the Angel fishing vessel rescued Pichugin.
The three men had travelled to the Shantar Islands, off the north-western shore of the Sea of Okhotsk. They went missing after setting off to return to Sakhalin Island on August 9. A rescue effort was launched but failed to locate them.
They had a small food ration and about 20 liters of water when their engine failed and they found themselves adrift.
Pichugin only weighed around 50 kg when he was found, having lost half of his body weight. “I have no strength left,” he said as he was rescued.
