A 52-year-old Lithuanian sailor was found alive on Tuesday evening off the Austral archipelago, around 16 hours after he fell from a ship, reported the Papeete Sea Rescue Center, which coordinates rescue at sea. in French Polynesia.
Tuesday morning, the service vessel Silver Supporter alerted 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.
"He doesn't know what happened"
Thanks to the calculations of the center, establishing a drift towards the north-west, the freighter found the sailor in the south of the Austral Islands, an archipelago located in the southernmost part of French Polynesia.
"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", told AFP Thomas Domenichini, coordinator of the rescue mission .
Coming from New Zealand, the Silver Supporter resumed his journey towards the Pitcairn Islands.