A 52-year-old Lithuanian sailor was found alive on Tuesday (February 16) off the Austral archipelago, about sixteen hours after he fell from a ship, reported the Papeete Sea Rescue Center, which coordinates the rescue in sea in French Polynesia.
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Tuesday morning, the service vessel Silver Supporter alerted the JRCC to the disappearance of its chief engineer, absent for breakfast.
The ship turned around, while the rescue center warned the other boats and sent a French Navy aircraft over the area.
Thanks to the calculations of the center, establishing a drift towards the north-west, the freighter found the sailor, south of the Austral Islands.
"He spent 16 hours in the water, but his health check is positive, even if he is dehydrated,"
said the center.
"Around 2 am, he filled his mechanic diary and does not know what happened, he went overboard,"
Thomas Domenichini, coordinator of the rescue mission, told AFP.
Coming from New Zealand, the Silver Supporter resumed his journey towards the Pitcairn Islands.
