A Peruvian fisherman who got lost in the Pacific Ocean was rescued after 95 days. Peruvian coast guards found the elderly fisherman 1,094 kilometers offshore, severely dehydrated. During his time adrift, he managed to survive by eating birds and sea turtles, stating, “I didn’t want to die. I am grateful to God for giving me a second chance.”
Maximo Napa Castro, 61, set out to sea from the town of Marcona on Peru’s southern coast on December 7 to fish. Despite preparing enough food for a two-week fishing trip, he disappeared in the Pacific Ocean after 10 days when stormy weather diverted his boat off course. With no news from him for a long time, his family initiated search efforts.
The Peruvian coast guards found the elderly fisherman in a critical condition, severely dehydrated, 95 days later, 1,094 kilometers offshore. Napa told Reuters, “I didn’t want to die. I ate cockroaches, birds, with turtles being the last thing I ate.” He shared that he survived by collecting rainwater on the boat and thinking about his family, including his two-month-old grandchild, even after he ran out of food.
Spending the last 15 days at sea without eating anything, Napa expressed, “Every day, I thought about my mother. I am thankful to God for giving me a second chance.” His mother, Elena Castro, said when speaking to journalists, “I prayed to God to bring him back to me, alive or dead, just to see him again.” The fisherman, taken to a hospital in Lima, the capital of Peru, for examination, expressed his desire to return to the sea and continue fishing in the future.