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Tourist who survived in the Sea of Okhotsk tells details of miraculous rescue
Mikhail Pichugin, who survived two months of drifting on an inflatable boat, told hospital reporters how he managed to survive for so long at sea without food or regular water and, most importantly, without going crazy. His brother and nephew died during the drift.
Mikhail, Sergey and Ilya Pichugin disappeared at sea two months ago. The two men and one child initially had enough food to last two weeks, but it consisted of various concentrates, cereals, toshiraki and canned peas. The men soaked all of this in rainwater and literally stuffed it themselves so as not to die of hunger.
A month and ten days later, Mikhail's nephew, 16-year-old Ilya, died of exhaustion. The man stopped eating because his body began to reject food. Having lost his son, Mikhail's brother Sergei went crazy, screamed and constantly tried to jump out of the boat. So Mikhail had to pull him out of the water and warm him with his body.
Three weeks after his son's death, the exhausted father fell overboard, and although Mikhail pulled him out of the icy water, he quickly began to freeze and soon died. So Mikhail was left alone in the boat with his two relatives.
To survive, Mikhail drank rainwater and protected himself from the cold with a camel wool sleeping bag, which got completely wet and never dried out. Boats and ships passed by, tourists were fired at with flares, about 10 shells were fired, but no one noticed him.
It was only when Mikhail had placed reflectors all over the boat that a sailor from a fishing boat called the Angel found him and picked him up. At first they mistook the boat for a fishing buoy, but as they got closer they saw a man waving his arms.
Mikhail claims he survived with God's help. "I had no choice. "Mother and daughter stayed at home."
After being rescued, Mikhail Pichugin was hospitalized, and doctors and psychologists are working with him. According to one of the doctors, the hospital is in touch with the families of the survivors. After recovery, he plans to return to his home in Buryatia.