Russian Man Miraculously Survives a Terrifying 67 Days at Sea

After spending 67 days adrift, a man was found alive on an inflatable boat. He went on the journey with two family members, but he was the only one to make it out alive.

Ocean at night / Unsplash

On August 9, Mikhail Pichugin, along with his 49-year-old brother and 15-year-old nephew, left shore to go whale-watching on the Sea of Okhotsk. Pichugin's daughter was scheduled to join the three men on their trip but decided against it at the last minute.

The three men prepared for their journey by packing two weeks' worth of food and water and intended on having a fun family outing. However, the trip took an unexpected turn when their engine broke down at sea.

The trio immediately lost contact with their family members back home. According to ExplorersWeb, rescue teams scoured the area via helicopter once they were reported missing, but the group was not able to be located.

On Monday, October 14, two months after their departure, a small inflatable boat that was holding the three men was located by a nearby fishing vessel, approximately 620 miles from where they departed. Pichugin was found conscious, but exclaimed, "I have no strength left," in a video showing his rescue.

While Pichugin was found alive, his brother and nephew tragically succumbed to starvation. He told a news source that after his brother's son passed away on the boat, the father "went crazy" and died 10 days later.

By the time Pichugin was rescued two months after their initial departure, he was in alarming condition. Due to the long stretch without food and water, he had lost nearly half his body weight. He was transported to a hospital in Magadan, Russia for further treatment and is reported to be stable at this time.

The BBC wrote, "As to how he was able to survive for so long in the Sea of Okhotsk - the coldest in East Asia - a representative from the far eastern branch of the Russian seafarers' union suggested a supply of fish may have played a part."

Pichugin endured the loss of two of his family members and experienced a horrifying two months at sea. His wife believes that his survival has been nothing short of a miracle.