How did he survive 66 days adrift? A castaway who lost his brother and nephew speaks

A Russian castaway who survived 66 days adrift at sea in a small inflatable boat spoke Wednesday, October 16, from his hospital bed about his ordeal.

Mikhail Pichugin, 46, was rescued by a fishing boat on Monday, October 14, off the coast of the distant eastern Kamchatka peninsula, more than two months after embarking on a boat trip with his brother and 15-year-old nephew. who died on board.

After being transferred to a hospital in the city of Magadan, the castaway was well enough to speak briefly with journalists while lying in a hospital bed.

Pale-looking and red-eyed, but not emaciated, he gave some details of how he managed to survive in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

“With God’s help, how else? If a ship called Angel saved me“he said smiling, referring to the name of the fishing boat whose crew saw him.

“I collected rainwater,” he said. He also stated that A sleeping bag full of camel hair helped him survive: “It’s wet, it doesn’t dry out, but you crawl under it, squirm a little, and get warm.”.

“I had no choice. I have my mother at home, my daughter,” he added about his motivation to live.

The deputy governor of Magadan, Tatiana Savchenko, declared his condition “satisfactory.” In addition, he reported that the administration would pay for Pichugin’s trip home and visits to his relatives.

The castaway was originally from Ulan-Ude, in Siberia, but worked as a driver on the island of Sakhalin, in the far east of Russia.

He left the coast of the Khabarovsk region on August 9 with his visiting brother Sergei, 49, and nephew Ilya, 15, on a crossing to Sakhalin that was supposed to last a few hours.

When it failed to arrive, Russian rescuers searched the area by helicopter and plane, suspecting that the ship had diverted towards Kamchatka, but found nothing and the search was eventually suspended.

The ship was found about 1,000 kilometers (670 miles) from its starting point.

According to his wife, Pichugin could have survived thanks to his obesity, as he weighed 100 kilos (220 pounds). Russian television reported that he weighed only 50 when he was found on Monday.

“It’s kind of a miracle,” his wife, Ekaterina, told the RIA Novosti news agency, adding that the men had gotten enough food and water to last two weeks.

Transportation researchers have begun a investigation into possible violations of safety regulationsraising the possibility that Pichugin could face a criminal charge and risk a prison sentence of up to seven years.

Russian television reported that men should have carried a satellite phonethe only means of communication in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.