A Russian man has miraculously survived 67 days adrift at sea on an inflatable boat after encountering difficulties while returning from a whale-watching trip.
The man, named as Mikhail Pichugin, 45, was found floating on the inflatable boat on the stormy Sea of Okhotsk, by fishermen in Russia’s far east.
His brother Sergey, 49, and 15-year-old nephew Ilya were also on board the vessel, but had perished.
Mr Pichugin is said to have lost 50kg - around half his body weight - in the more than two months he was lost at sea.
Photos show the moment he was found, wearing a life vest and was wrapped in blankets, adrift in the pitch darkness. He had tied an orange flag to the small, 15-foot motorboat in hope it would help increase his chances of being seen.
Experienced boatman Mr Pichugin set off on a whale-watching tip with his brother and nephew in early August. They reached the Shantar Islands, known for its bowhead whale population, on August 4, before setting off for home on August 9.
The return journey to the island of Sakhalin should have taken around four hours, but while returning the boat’s engine is believed to have failed causing the vessel to begin drifting out to sea.
The group reportedly had on board warm clothing, flares, 20 litres of drinking water, and enough food for around two weeks.
Russian authorities launched a major search mission after they failed to return home, but rescuers were unable to find the trio and had given up hope of their survival.
The boat was eventually found by fishermen in the early hours of October 14, found 14 miles off the village of Ust-Khairuzovo, on the west coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
Fishermen heard a splashing sound in the darkness which they initially thought was “probably a buoy or garbage”, Russian news outlet KP-Irkutsk reported.
Turning on their searchlight, they were astonished to see an inflatable boat illuminated by the beam.
In it sat exhausted Mr Pichugin, who waved his arms and shouted “Here!”.
Mr Pichugin was taken on board the fishing boat and taken ashore, where he was transferred into the care of medics.
How Mr Pichugin survived is not known.
The trio had fishing rods on board, and he and his brother have been described as “avid hunters and fishermen”.
Mr Pichugin was originally from Buryatia in eastern Siberia, but reportedly works as a driver on the island of Sakhalin.
His ex-wife Ekaterina Pichugina, with whom he shares a 12-year-old daughter, told local news outlet KP-Irkutsk: “We were waiting for a miracle, and it happened!
“The investigator reported the good news on the evening of October 14. And after four in the morning, the captain of the ship on which Misha was being taken to Magadan called me.
“He said that he asked me to call him. So he remembered my number, or was able to save his phone number.
“He received medical care. His condition is satisfactory. However, if you believe the information from the internet, he lost 50 kilos...before this, Misha weighed about 100 kilos.
“I have not been able to talk to him in person yet. He has not yet recovered from what happened.”
