Man rescued with his dead brother and nephew in the boat after months at sea

A Russian man’s whale watching adventure turned into a 67-day nightmare. On October 14, a fishing vessel discovered a small inflatable boat carrying a Russian in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. The man went to sea in August with his brother and nephew, the authorities told several media outlets.

While Russian authorities did not name the man, state media RIA Novosti identified him as 46-year-old Mikhail Picchugin, the media reported. State media also reported that Picchugin was found along with the bodies of his 15-year-old nephew and 49-year-old brother.

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The trio went missing on August 9 while heading to Sakhalin Island from Cape Perovsky in the Khabarovsk region. A rescue operation was unsuccessful at the time, state media said.

How Mikhail Picchugin was saved

The men reportedly had a small supply of food and about five gallons of water when their boat lost its engine, leaving them adrift and lost at sea.

When the fishing vessel spotted an object in the water, they initially believed it was debris. They decided to ensure this by turning on their spotlight, state media said. When they did, they were shocked to see Picchugin on his dinghy. The surprise is mainly due to the fact that the Sea of ​​Okhotsk often freezes over and is considered the coldest sea in the region.

As a result of the ordeal, Picchugin lost half his body weight and weighed just 50 kilograms when he was rescued, state media reported. At the time of his rescue, Pichugin did not know how he survived or how his relatives died, according to news reports.

Citing a video released by the prosecutor’s office, the media reported that Picchugin shouted “Come here!” when he spotted the fishing boat. Then he said to those on the lifeboat, “I have no strength left.”

Picchugin was suffering from hypothermia and dehydration but his condition was stable, his doctor told reporters. However, he is not finished yet. State media reported that the public prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation. They want to determine whether a violation of safety regulations resulted in any deaths.