MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian man was rescued from the stormy Sea of Okhotsk after surviving for more than two months in a small inflatable boat that lost its engine, but his brother and nephew died, officials said Tuesday .
Russia’s Far East Prosecutor’s Office said the man was rescued Monday by a fishing boat off the Kamchatka Peninsula.
It did not name the survivor, but Russian media identified him as Mikhail Pichugin, 46, who in early August embarked on a whale-watching trip in the Sea of Okhotsk with his brother. 49 years old and 15 years old. -one year old nephew. Their bodies were reportedly found in the boat when the fishing boat Angel rescued Pichugin.
According to media reports, the three men traveled to the Shantar Islands, off the northwest coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, in early August. They disappeared after leaving Cape Perovsky in the Khabarovsk region for Sakhalin Island on August 9. Rescue operations were launched, but failed to locate them.
Russian media reported that the trio had a small food ration and about 20 liters (5.2 gallons) of water when their engine failed and they were left adrift.
Pichugin weighed about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) when he was found, having lost half his weight, according to media reports.
When the fishing boat crew spotted the small inflatable boat on their radar, they initially thought it was a buoy or a piece of scrap metal, according to media reports, but they turned it on the spotlight to make sure and were shocked to see Pichugin.
He did not immediately explain how he managed to survive in the Sea of Okhotsk, the coldest sea in East Asia and known for its strong winds, or how his brother and nephew died. The crew of the ship that rescued Pichugin found their bodies tied to the boat to prevent them from being swept out to sea, according to media reports.
When Pichugin was rescued, his boat was drifting about 11 nautical miles off the coast of Kamchatka, about 1,000 kilometers (about 540 nautical miles) from their starting point across the Sea of Okhotsk.
A video released by the prosecution shows an emaciated man wearing a life vest desperately shouting “come here!” and the crew working to get him back to safety.
“I have no strength left,” Pichugin said as he was taken to safety.
Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into the incident for violating safety rules, which led to the deaths.
Pichugin was rushed to an emergency care unit at Magadan Hospital. Chief doctor Yuri Lednev told reporters he suffered from dehydration and hypothermia but his condition was stable.
