He was all alone in a small boat when suddenly a wave came. And suddenly a man (31) had to fight for his life in Australia. He clung to a piece of driftwood on his boat for nearly 24 hours. Then he could be saved. And he was incredibly lucky. Where he capsized, there are numerous sharks and crocodiles.
The man was discovered and rescued in Torres Strait on Wednesday, about two kilometers from his capsized boat, rescuers said.
According to the Maritime Safety Authority, he departed from Getullai Island off the northern tip of Australia on Tuesday but did not arrive at his destination as planned. A search by plane on Tuesday evening initially yielded no results.
‘I can’t believe he survived’
That same evening, a search party from the Queensland Marine Police set out. The search had to be called off due to bad weather conditions. The man was found late Wednesday morning.
“It’s unbelievable that he survived,” Anthony Moynihan, chief officer of the Thursday Island Station, told ABC News. At the same time, this is a good example of not going out on the water unprepared. “He had absolutely no safety equipment on board, no distress beacons, no flares.” That he could still survive was a “Christmas miracle”. (lrc/AFP)