A Brit survived on only seaweed and water as he held onto a buoy for dear life after his kayak capsized en route to Spain.
After clinging onto the buoy for the last four days the Brit was saved by the chance passing of Dutch fisherman Tunis Van Luut.
By the time he was found he was completely without food and water and was only wearing swimming trunks to protect him from the extreme weather conditions.
READ MORE: True story behind Thai cave rescue in 2018 – and how many survived
Some reports have suggested that the Kayaker could have been holding onto the buoy for as long as 12 days.
Tunis Van Luut, 41, skipper of French fishing vessel De Madelaine, told The Mirror and explained the dramatic rescue.
He said: "We found the kayaker on Thursday at around 11 am, he wasn't ok – we tried to speak to him but he was very bad.
"We were passing the buoy and I was on the watch because I was the skipper of the boat, I could see something and I couldn't believe my eyes.
'High-pitched' Gimp Man offered cigarette by lads he tried scaring off in dead of night
"I thought, 'is it really true that I can see a person on it?'
"We got a little close to the buoy and I was calling my crew and I told them that I could see a person on the buoy, I gave him a shout on a loudspeaker to let him know that we can see him, and with his clothes, he made a flag to wave us down."
The fisherman said he and his crew had been fishing for red gurnard, millets, and squid and had been at sea for three days when they came across the man.
Local reports say the fishermen had a bad catch in the morning and had ventured into the area where the man was found as a result and that they would usually have avoided the area.
Family respond to Facebook Marketplace message – and it ends up leaving them homeless
The skipper added that the conditions were so bad that they couldn't get close enough to the buoy to jump on board, so hard to find another way to get the Brit to safety.
He continued: "At that time, we were moving slowly to the buoy and we made a life buoy ready for him and a life jacket and we threw him a line, so he could put a life jacket on, but his condition was so bad it was impossible for him to do that.
"One of my crew members put a life vest by him, one metre from the buoy, and he jumped straight for it.
"We pulled him on board and picked him up on the deck, it was not possible for him to stand so we had two crew members on either side pick him up.
For more shocking stories from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here
"He needed water and he was drinking a lot, and I asked him who are you and how is it possible that you are here on this buoy without your clothes, just your swimming shorts – there was nothing else.
"We took temperatures of him, he was 26 degrees. I called the coastguard because he needed assistance, and he had to be taken directly to the hospital. In ten minutes he was picked up."
Tunis tried to ask the man who he was or where he came from, but he soon discovered that the Brit was too weak to talk.
READ NEXT
• Harry 'will return to UK to promote memoir' but could lose title he goes 'fully rogue'
• 'I had time of my life at Butlin's Big Weekender – the pool party was better than Ibiza'
• Halloween goes lettuce-mad as Daily Star fans create amazing Liz Truss parody costumes
Source: Read Full Article
