A man was rescued by fishermen in the English Channel after reportedly trying to kayak to Spain.
Fishermen found 28-year-old Daniel Lewis, who was living in Liverpool but is from Blackpool, clinging to a buoy on Thursday, October 27 after his kayak capsized during the crossing from Dover. He'd reportedly survived in the busy shipping route "for days", including four spent on the buoy, wearing only swimming trunks and eating only seaweed and mussels.
Tunis Van Luut, 41, was skipper of De Madelaine, the fishing vessel which picked Daniel up. He told the Mirror: "He needed water and he was drinking a lot, and I asked him who are you and how is it possible that you are here on this buoy without your clothes, just your swimming shorts - there was nothing else."
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He said Daniel had "a lot of blue veins on his head and arms" and "his eyes were very deep in his head" when they found him. Tunis said: "He told me he wanted to go to Spain but I said that is stupid because of the distance - it's too far. That's what he told us. He departed on October 15 from Dover and his plan was that he was going to Spain. I asked if he had family and he said he didn't have family."
The French coastguard said it would be impossible to survive at sea for 12 days. Daniel's dad, Richard Lewis, told Mail Online his son "has never been into kayaking". He said: "I'm so pleased that he is safe and well and being looked after in hospital. But I was really worried that he had almost been lost at sea.
"I had no idea he was planning anything like this. [Daniel] has had a lot of problems and he has been moving around a lot. He has been living between Liverpool, Wrexham and Birmingham. I try to keep tabs on him and I try to speak to him on the phone as often as I can. But the other day he just vanished. I later heard that he had split up with his girlfriend."
After pulling Daniel on board, Tunis realised the kayaker needed urgent medical attention and called the coastguard, who flew out in eight minutes. They winched Daniel to safety, which was filmed in a video showing Daniel waving to his rescuers as he was whisked away, the Mirror reports.
He suffered severe hypothermia and had a potentially lethal body temperature of just 26C when pulled aboard De Madeleine before being airlifted to a French hospital for treatment.
Orlane Saliou, spokesperson for the Maritime Gendarmerie, the French coastguard, said Daniel's physical fitness and the timely rescue from the "world's busiest water way" where 400 commercial ships pass through every day, "saved his life", Mail Online reports.
She said: "His motives concerning this crossing are not very clear but it would seem that a sporting project should be discarded. The Maritime Gendarmerie is currently carrying out an investigation on this topic. The person suffered from hypothermia, general fatigue and dehydration but given his good physical resistance, his general state of health is quite good.
"The victim was taken care of by the French healthcare services as soon as they arrive in the territory. The responsiveness of the CROSS Griz-nez [maritime emergency station] and the rapid engagement of the French Navy helicopter Dauphin probably saved his life."
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