Peruvian fisherman missing for 95 days in the Pacific returns home

(CLO) A Peruvian fisherman, after 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean , surviving by eating cockroaches, birds and sea turtles, has returned to reunite with his family.

Maximo Napa set out on a fishing trip from the town of Marcona, on the southern coast of Peru, on December 7. He had brought enough food to last two weeks, but after ten days, bad weather sent his boat off course, leaving him adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean .

Maximo Napa undergoes medical examination. Photo: X / PeriodicoZocalo

His family launched a search, but Peruvian coast guard was unable to locate him until Wednesday, when an Ecuadorian fishing patrol boat spotted him about 680 miles (1,094 kilometers) off the country's coast. By then, Napa was severely dehydrated and in critical condition.

“I don’t want to die,” Napa said after reuniting with his brother in Paita, near the border with Ecuador. “I ate cockroaches, birds, and the last thing I ate was turtles.”

He said he tried to keep his spirits up by thinking about his family, including his two-month-old niece. He survived on rainwater collected on the boat and, as food ran out, spent the last 15 days without food.

Napa is expected to undergo further medical examinations in Paita before returning south to Lima.

Miraculous survivals at sea are not uncommon in history. In 2014, a Mexican fisherman survived 13 months lost in the Pacific Ocean by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater. In 2006, three Mexican fishermen were adrift for nine months before being rescued.

Cao Phong (according to Dailymail, Newsweek)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ngu-dan-peru-mat-tich-95-ngay-tren-thai-binh-duong-tro-ve-nha-post338738.html