Ukrainian man survives three days at sea on inflatable
- Published
The surface of the water toy was so large, its passenger didn't risk going overboard
A Ukrainian man has been rescued after he fell asleep on an inflatable toy and drifted out into the Black Sea, it's reported.
Russian coastguards near Crimea responded to a call on 5 August and found the "distressed" 19-year-old security guard Mykhaylo Doroshenko on an inflatable trampoline. He had been stranded on the contraption without food or water for almost three days, Russia's reports.
He had fallen asleep on the inflatable on a beach in Kherson Region in southern Ukraine and was swept out to sea shortly afterwards, travelling some 35 nautical miles (40 miles; 64 km).
Mr Doroshenko told Ren TV "on the second day, when I couldn't see the shore, I didn't think it was funny any more. I started crying, I was in shock, and tried to cover myself from the sun as best I could." He called to to several passing ships, apparently in vain. But someone must have raised the alarm, as he was eventually rescued by coastguards.
A Russian border guard in Crimea said he "first of all got him to the shore, and then delivered him to hospital" in a village in Crimea, a part of Ukraine that Russia occupied and annexed in 2014.
Mr Doroshenko was treated for sun stroke and dehydration, but is now recovering. The Russian authorities are working out how to return him home, given tensions with Ukraine over Crimea.
Russian coastguards picked up Mr Doroshenko on the 5 August
Reporting by Kerry Allen, Sergey Arsentyev
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