A helicopter search for the trio was unsuccessful when they went missing
One Russian man miraculously survived more than two months adrift at sea that claimed the life of two of his family members.
The 45-year-old man, identified as Mikhail Pichugin by Russian media, has surprised authorities on how he managed to live.
He spent a total of 67 days in the frigid Sea of Okhotsk in a small inflatable dinghy, and was luckily found by a fishing boat crew nearly 620 miles from where he set off in August.
On the boat were the bodies of his brother, Sergei, and his 15-year-old nephew, Ilya, who weren’t as lucky as him.
Pichugin’s wife said the three men had gone out to whale watch and had brought food supplies for two weeks.
Amazingly, the couple’s daughter was initially supposed to go on the trip as well, but decided she wanted to return home instead.
Speaking to Russia’s state-run news agency, Ria Novosti, Pichugin’s wife said : “We don’t know anything yet. We just know that he’s alive… It’s some kind of miracle!”
She also suggested her husband’s weight may have factored into his ability to survive the ordeal. She said when he left for the trip, he was around 100kg, and when he was found, he was only around half of that weight.
A video has surfaced, showing the moment of rescue with Pichugin in an orange life vest waving down the fisherman in the dark. He is also heard saying he has no more strength left.
The fishermen reportedly yelled back for him to just sit tight and hold on while they rescued him, according to a translation.
Pichugin and the corpses of his family were then brought aboard the fishing boat and brought back to the port city of Magadan.
Dmitry Lisitsyn, the head of Sakhalin Environment Watch, spoke of how astounding it is that Pichigun was found alive.
He said: “There are two real miracles here.
“The first is that such a small, uncontrolled boat was not capsized in the stormy autumn Sea of Okhotsk after more than two months of drifting. I can’t wrap my head around how that is possible. The boat certainly went through several strong storms and remained afloat – this is something incredible.
“The second is that someone on this boat survived. The fact that two people died — a father and son — is very sad, but not surprising.”
Mr Pichugin is now recovering in hospital and doctors have said he is more or less in a stable condition.
