Mexican man adrift at sea survives for 13 months

  • 10 years ago
Originally published on February 4, 2014

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Mexican castaway, who claims to have drifted across the Pacific Ocean for 13 months, was found alive in the Marshall Islands on Thursday.

Jose Salvador Albarengo, 37, and his fishing vessel washed ashore at the Ebon Atoll from where he was rushed to Majuro, the capital, where he is now recuperating.

Albarengo and a teenage shark fishing man embarked on a day-long fishing trip on a 7m (24ft) fiberglass boat from Mexico in December 2012. The motor on the boat stopped working shortly afterward and the two soon lost sight of land.

Albarengo survived by catching birds, fish and turtles with his bare hands and drinking his own urine. His teenaged shipmate, Ezekiel starved to death.

After more than a year, Albarengo's boat finally washed ashore on the remote and sparsely populated coral atoll of 22 islands.
There he was spotted in ragged underpants by two local women who alerted authorities.

After a 22-hour boat ride, he arrived at Majuro for medical examination.

Albarengo's body was swollen due to edema brought on by too much sun and salt. Despite the ordeal, he appeared to be in otherwise relatively good condition when he was admitted to hospital.

Born in El Salvador, Albarengo worked as a fisherman in Mexico for 15 years.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more!

Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS

Check out our official website: http://us.tomonews.net/

Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS