Man Survived 14 Hours At Sea By Holding Onto 'A Piece Of Rubbish'

A Lithuanian sailor, Vidam Perevertilov, underwent a horrific experience after falling off a cargo ship into the Pacific Ocean. The incident took place on February 16 and the man spent 14 hours in the water. Vidam’s son, Marat, said that he survived by holding on to a piece of sea rubbish. Vidam was working as the chief engineer of the Silver Supporter.

After falling into the ocean, Vidam started swimming towards a black dot that was kilometers away from him. The black dot he saw turned out to be a fishing buoy, which he held onto until he was rescued, according to BBC.

Recalling the incident, Marat said after pumping fuel in the cargo ship in the engine room during his shift, Vidam felt hot and dizzy, so he walked onto the deck for some rest at around 4 AM before falling off the ship. The ship sailed away as it didn’t realize he was gone.

Marat continued, “He looked about 20 years older and very tired but he was alive.”

Until sunrise, the man managed to stay afloat and swim to the fishing buoy. Marat said, “It was not anchored to anything or a boat, it was just a piece of sea rubbish.” About six hours after Vidam fell off, the ship crew realized his absence and turned the ship around.

Media reports say that the crew figured out their engineer’s location by checking his work logs. The French navy aircraft helped the search from Tahiti and France’s meteorological service studied the winds to determine possible drift patterns. Eventually, the ship located Vidam.

The man spotted his ship from a distance and called out, which was noticed by the passengers. The ship approached him and pull him to the safety board.

“His will to survive was strong. I probably would have drowned straight away, but he always kept himself fit and healthy and that's why I think he could survive,” said Marat.

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