One of two men who went missing at sea two weeks ago was found alive in a lifeboat by a Canadian fishing boat this Thursday (26). It was about 70 miles northwest of the Washington coast, according to U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier.
“The fact that he was in that lifeboat for several days and still had hope and was finally found by a more or less random fishing boat was incredible and just miraculous,” Strohmaier told CNN by phone. “The ocean is a very big place. He was floating in the middle of nowhere. It’s often very rare for a ship to pass,” he said.
On Sunday (22), the US Coast Guard was informed of the disappearance of the fishing vessel, which left the Washington coast on October 12 and was scheduled to return on October 15.
The man was found by a Canadian fishing boat “in Canadian waters and from there the ship radioed the Canadian Coast Guard.” So they brought him back to shore where he could go to a hospital. When he got to the hospital, his condition was stable,” said Strohmaier.
The sailor remains missing
According to the US Coast Guard, the other man remains missing at this time and the incident remains under investigation.
“We are waiting for more information to collect eyewitness accounts and statements from him (the found man) to determine what future actions the Canadian Coast Guard might take or adopt,” Strohmaier said when asked whether the U.S. Coast Guard would continue the search would resume for the missing sailor.
On Tuesday (24), the US Coast Guard reported on the social network about the search for the missing ship, which left Grays Harbor on October 12 and was reportedly planning to return on October 15.”
On Wednesday (25), the service said it had suspended the search “pending the development of new information” after “teams searched more than 36,000 square kilometers for more than 8 hours.”
*With information from CNN