Mikhail Pichugin, 46, was found on Monday by a fishing vessel in the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk, near the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East, approximately two months later having gone on a trip on an inflatable boat with his brother and his 15-year-old nephew, who are dead.
Hospitalized in the city of Magadan, Mikhail Pichoguine was able to speak briefly to journalists on Wednesday from his hospital room. Pale, but smiling, he recounted in a weak voice some details of his daily life.
Camel hair sleeping bag
“With God’s help, how could it be otherwise?”declared the forty-year-old in a video broadcast by Russian television.
“Is collected rainwater“ to survive, he explained, praising his camel hair sleeping bag which helped him keep warm.
“It’s wet (…), but we can get under it, move a little, and we’re a little warmer,” affirming “have no choice” except stay alive: “I have my mother at home, my daughter…”.
Deputy Speaker of the Magadan Region Government Tatiana Savchenko described the condition of the survivor as “satisfying” and told the press that the local authorities were going to finance Mikhail Pichugin’s return home.
From 100 to 50 kilograms
Mikhail Pichugin worked as a driver on Sakhalin Island and invited his brother and nephew to visit him, according to the tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, citing family members.
“It’s kind of a miracle.”commented Tuesday to the same media the wife of the survivor, Ekaterina, believing that her husband’s overweight could have saved him.
“It weighed around 100 kilograms,” she said, while Russian television claims that the man now weighs 50kg.
The three unfortunate people set sail on August 9 aboard a small inflatable boat. It was not until October 14 that the boat was found in the Sea of Okhotsk, some 1,000km from their starting point.
An investigation was opened to violation of maritime transport rules which recklessly resulted in the deaths of two people.
Related News :