A fisherman who was stranded at sea for nearly 24 hours in New Zealand managed to attract the attention of rescuers by using his watch to reflect the sun.
Police said it was an "absolute miracle" the unnamed man survived after falling overboard from his 40-foot boat while on a solo fishing trip on Tuesday near the Alderman Islands, off the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island.
The fisherman’s boat overturned as he tried to catch a suspected marlin fish - with a shark even coming to "have a sniff", reported the New Zealand Herald.
Around 2pm, three fishermen noticed an unusual reflection on the water and rescued him out the water.
His first words to his rescuers were: "Glad to see you."
Max White, the skipper of the boat that came to the man's rescue, told the New Zealand Herald: "He was able to recall his story. It was a bit eye-opening for us.
"He recalled... his night in terms of being circled by a shark for a while there. He had been awake for nearly two days, I guess you don’t want to be sleeping if you’re trying to keep yourself afloat."
The fishermen alerted police, and he was treated for hypothermia when he returned to shore.
WhangamatÄ Police Sergeant Will Hamilton said it was an "absolute miracle" the fisherman is still alive.
"Without the quick actions of the three gentlemen that retrieved him, this certainly would have had a tragic outcome," he said.
The rescued man said in a note passed to police that he wished to thank "Mike, Tyler and James" for saving him. The whereabouts of the man’s boat is currently unknown.
However, a modest Mr White said: "We were just the right boat at the right time."
