Castaway sued with claims he ate his shipmate to stay alive
A man who survived spending 14 months adrift in the Pacific Ocean is being sued for allegedly cannibalising his shipmate.
Jose Salvador Alvarenga made headlines around the world after his dramatic rescue having spent 438 days adrift when a fishing trip went wrong.
It is believed to be the only time a castaway has survived more than a year at sea.
The family of his shipmate, who claim he stayed alive by eating his companion, is now suing the 38-year-old.
Ezequiel Cordoba, 22, and Mr Alvarenga went on a fishing trip on November 17, 2012. Mr Alvarenga claims Mr Cordoba died soon after the boat ended up adrift off of Mexico’s coast.
A storm was blamed for destroying the 7.6 metre open boat’s motor and radio.
Mr Alvarenga says he kept the corpse on board for "company" for about six days before he left the body in the sea.
When Mr Alvarenga eventually washed up on an atoll in the Marshall Islands in January 2014, 10,500 kilometres away, he said he had survived by drinking urine and turtle’s blood.
Mr Cordoba, he said, died after eating a bird and becoming sick.
Mr Cordoba’s family are now seeking $1.4 million in compensation.
Mr Alvarenga’s lawyers have suggested the lawsuit is driven by Mr Cordoba’s family’s desire for a 50 per cent share of the profits from a recently published book on the ordeal.
"I believe that this demand is part of the pressure from this family to divide the proceeds of royalties," said lawyer Ricardo Cucalon said.
However, he said the survivor’s book deal had not made him rich, selling just 1,500 copies so far.
He said his client now lived in a rented property in his home town of San Francisco Menendez with his parents and daughter.
