Man Rescued After 67 Days Adrift in Boat Off Siberian Coast, Brother and 15-Year-Old Nephew Found Dead

The trio originally set sail in August to watch whales, according to the local prosecutor's office

<p>Official telegram channel of the Russian Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor

A man was rescued from a small inflatable boat more than two months after he set sail with two family members, who did not survive the trip.

The Russian Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office announced on Telegram that the man spent 67 days on the water before he was rescued from the Sea of Okhotsk by a fishing boat on Monday, Oct. 14, according to the Associated Press and Reuters.

The man reportedly set out with his brother and nephew for a whale watching trip, but went missing while on the way back from Sakhalin Island on Aug. 9, per CNN and CBS News.

“After some time, contact with them was lost, their location remained unknown,” said a spokesperson for the local prosecutor’s office, according to CNN.

According to Russian media, the trio had a small amount of food and water with them when their engine failed, leaving them adrift.

<p>Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP</p> Russian emergency workers pull Mikhail Pichugin ashore after he was rescued by a fishing vessel, as seen in video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024

Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP

Russian emergency workers pull Mikhail Pichugin ashore after he was rescued by a fishing vessel, as seen in video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024

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The Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper said the fishing crew that located the man originally believed they had spotted a buoy or piece of junk on radar off the Siberian coast, per the AP. They later learned that object was a man.

The man who survived has been identified by local media reports as 46-year-old Mikhail Pichugin, according to the AP and CNN.

The director of the fishing company whose workers located Pichugin told Russian state media RIA Novosti that Pichugin was found “in serious condition, emaciated, but conscious," according to CNN.

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The bodies of Pichugin’s 49-year-old brother and 15-year-old nephew were found on the inflatable boat, according to the outlets.

Footage of the rescue, shared by the prosecutor's office, showed the man in an orange jumpsuit while a red flag waved in the air while planted on the boat.

“I have no strength left,” Pichugin said during the rescue, per the AP.

<p>Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP</p> ussian emergency workers transfer Mikhail Pichugin into an ambulance ashore after he was rescued by a fishing vessel, as seen in video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024

Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP

ussian emergency workers transfer Mikhail Pichugin into an ambulance ashore after he was rescued by a fishing vessel, as seen in video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024

Related: U.S. Coast Guard Rescues 2 Children and 3 Adults 'Clinging Onto' Capsized Boat in Florida

Crews initially spent a month searching for the missing boat, but were unable to locate the vessel, Reuters reported.

Now, prosecutors said an investigation into the incident has been opened on charges of violation of safety rules that resulted in deaths, according to the AP.

The cause of death for Pichugin’s uncle and nephew have not yet been released.

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